Avanquest Partners With Sun Microsystems

• Tuesday, 11 October 2005

AVANQUEST PARTNERS WITH SUN MICROSYSTEMS
TO PUBLISH NEW STAROFFICE SOFTWARE THROUGHOUT EUROPE

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UK – October 12, 2005 – Avanquest Software (EURONEXT: AVQ), today announced their agreement with Sun Microsystems to publish StarOffice™ 8 software, the latest version of the award-winning desktop productivity suite, available in ten countries in Europe.

As part of the agreement, Avanquest will make StarOffice 8 software available to consumers throughout Europe, downloadable versions of StarOffice 8 software will be available through Avanquest Online stores in France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK. Online shoppers in Italy, Spain and Portugal will be able to download the software from Avanquest Online by end-October, with the retail boxed version of StarOffice 8 also available through more than 5,000 retail outlets Europe-wide by the end of the month.

StarOffice 8 software is an easy-to-use office productivity suite with powerful word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and database capabilities. Based on open source technology, OpenOffice.org, StarOffice 8 software runs on Windows, Linux and Solaris operating systems. The suite is comprised of five key components: StarOffice Writer, Impress, Calc, Base and Draw.

StarOffice 8 software, a complete and affordable alternative to other leading office suites, is the first commercial office suite using the Open Document Format for Office Applications, the OASIS open standard that allows users to own their own data and not be locked into a particular vendor’s office suite in order to access the data. The Open Document format provides improved interoperability and enhanced programmability and is increasingly endorsed by the European Union, as well as the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

"StarOffice software has always been popular in Europe and we expect the new features of StarOffice 8, such as its compliance with the OpenDocument format to drive more demand," said Neal Civjan, Vice President, Worldwide OEM Software Sales,” Sun Microsystems. "We’re excited to combine our product technology with Avanquest’s expertise in software publishing.”

“Partnering with Sun is fully in keeping with Avanquest´s strategy to offer world-class software on a multi-channel level throughout Europe and all Avanquest markets worldwide,” said Chris Thompson, Managing Director of Avanquest UK. He went on to say “Sun´s Star Office is a product with broad European appeal. The excellent new features in Star Office 8, together with Avanquest´s tremendous coverage of the European market will allow both firms to widely expand the product’s market share.”

StarOffice software provides excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office. StarOffice 8 software further improves import and export of Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, even password-protected MS Word and MS Excel files and presentations with complex animations, autoshapes and slide transitions. StarOffice 8 software also provides features that look more familiar to Microsoft Office users. The Format Paintbrush allows simple transfer of styles from one section of a document to another, and the Impress multi-pane user interface simplifies creation of high-impact presentations.

StarOffice builds on the OpenOffice.org code base by adding a host of features like a commercial spellchecker, additional clipart, sample files, templates, additional metrically-equivalent fonts, and the Adabas D database engine on top of OpenOffice.org. In addition, StarOffice offers 60-day free support from time of purchase for up to three incidents.

Pricing and availability:
StarOffice 8 is priced at £69.99 [RRP] and is available from all major retailers and Avanquest UK [www.shop.avanquest.com/uk]



About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer"(TM) -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com

About Avanquest UK:
Avanquest UK is part of Avanquest Software, a global developer and leading publisher of best-selling personal and professional software designed for utilities, office productivity, communications and mobility worldwide. Headquartered in France, with operating units, subsidiaries and offices located in United States, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, China and Korea, Avanquest Software products are marketed in over 100 countries, through e-commerce, OEM partnerships and IT resellers. Founded in 1984 as BVRP Software and listed since December 1996 on Euronext (ISIN FR0004026714), Avanquest Software forms part of the Eurolist, NextEconomy segment and SBF 250 index. In 2004, Avanquest Software posted record financial results, with revenue of €57.0M ($72.0M), operating income of €6.9M ($8.7M) and a net income of €5.3M ($6.7M). Additional information on Avanquest Software is available at http://www.avanquest.com.


Contacts:

Media (Review copies, box shots etc):
Natalie Dowse, Public Relations
Email: ndowse@avanquest.co.uk
Tel: 01962 835050
Mobile: 07870 279233

Sales/Marketing (Product Information):
Email: spatel@avanquest.co.uk
Tel: 01962 835 046
Mobile: 07717 896 836

Analyst/Investor Relations
Thierry Bonnefoi, Chief Financial Officer:
Email: tbonnefoi@avanquest.com
Tel: +33 (0)141 2719 74

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