AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 5, 2006 -- NCsoft®, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online games, has announced the creation of PlaySmarttm, a public service program promoting common-sense guidelines that will be delivered directly to customers to help enhance personal safety and data security.

Drawing from industry standards, NCsoft has developed a set of simple guidelines for its customers that focus on two areas: personal safety and data security. Personal safety includes tips for families who play online games and data security covers issues such as data loss or online scams. The set of guidelines will be placed on a card in all of NCsoft’s retail game packs as well as being available on NCsoft’s game portal, PlayNC®.com.

NCsoft has chosen to proactively develop a program, which if followed, may help to make playing online games a more positive experience for individuals and families by helping to reduce risk factors.

“We recognize that there is an inherent risk to any social interaction over the Internet. Whether it is over chat rooms or social networks, the Internet is rife with scams and individuals who would take advantage of others,” said Robert Garriott, CEO of NCsoft North America. “PlaySmart is an effort to educate our customers about these issues and offer simple guidelines to help mitigate problems inherent in interacting online. Our games are known for their positive social climates and as a place to find exciting online entertainment and by following the few simple guidelines in PlaySmart, players and their families should find online gaming a source of fun, stress-free entertainment.”

The guidelines are being developed by NCsoft in accordance with industry standards made available at such sources as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Following is a sample of a few of the “smart tips” that will be delivered directly to NCsoft customers as part of the PlaySmart program:

For personal safety:

• Parents should review a game’s ratings to ensure they are age appropriate for children.
• Parents should monitor or even play computer games with their children.
• Parents should be aware of the social interaction their children have in games, including chat features and email exchanges.

For data security:

• Never give out your credit card information to anyone.
• Never give out personal information such as name or address to anyone after you have signed up for an online game subscription.
• Do not give out passwords or account information to friends so they may play on your account.

“These are basic, common-sense guidelines which are obvious to most of us. But it only takes one successful scam or incident of inappropriate behavior to have a very negative impact on a player and their family,” Garriott said. “We will always endeavor to ensure customer’s personal and data security, and by following these very simple precautions, players and their families can reduce the risk factor of a negative incident dramatically.”

NCsoft will unveil a PlaySmart web page with a full list of safety and security tips later this year. Also, a smart play tips card will be placed into game packages later in 2006 or early in 2007. NCsoft will also organize a panel of experts, including security and behavioral authorities to create, review and update the PlaySmart guidelines each year.

For additional resources for safe gaming, go to ESRB at ESRB.org.