(September 18th 2003, Beijing) Microsoft joined hands with Vimicro today to establish a national multimedia technology center. This marks a brilliant future in the international market for Chinese multimedia chips with own intellectual property and technology.

Vimicro and Microsoft will jointly invest RMB 17 million to establish Vimicro & Microsoft Multimedia Technology Center, which will co-develop core multimedia technology and co-expand international market.

Vimicro Corporation is a leading China-based semiconductor company providing chips and solutions that enable multimedia communication and applications. In a very short time, the company successfully developed Starlight No.1 Chip with own intellectual property right and sold it into international mainstream market. Also, the company has successfully developed Starlight No.2, a multimedia chip integrating audio and imaging capabilities, and Starlight No.3, an imaging chip adopted by Fujitsu to power the visual system of its MARON-1 Robot.

Currently, the chip technology of Vimicro Corporation has been widely applied by many world magnates such as Philips, Samsung, Fujitsu, etc. The Chief Executive of Microsoft Great China Region, Chen Yongzheng, said that Vimicro has given the birth to the Chinese chip that moves towards the world for the first time. Microsoft is ready to join hands with Vimicro to introduce the most excellent multimedia technology and products to the customers all around the world.