Innovative Octopz Online Collaboration Software Now Incorporates Yahoo! Maps and Flickr

(TORONTO, April 22, 2008) – As part of its ongoing commitment to meeting the collaboration needs of the creative community, Octopz is delighted to announce that it now supports Flickr and Yahoo! Maps, two of the key Yahoo! properties. Flickr is an outstanding online photo management and sharing application, and Yahoo! Maps is an industry leading online mapping service.

The interface between Octopz and Yahoo! allows users to access the online web services of Yahoo! Maps and Flickr (either an individual photo collection or the entire Flickr library), upload the desired images and map information directly to an Octopz meeting room, and view and markup the images online.  Users can access their images 24/7, are able to work in real time or asynchronously, and can archive their work — including all markups and notes — in a highly secure environment.

“Yahoo! was built on the principle of collaboration, and we are constantly looking for new and exciting ways to help people create and share information with each other,” said Kerry Munro, general manager of Yahoo! Canada.  “Octopz takes the API’s (Application Programming Interface) for products such as Flickr and Yahoo! Maps and integrates them into their online collaboration platform so users can now discuss and annotate images and map information in real time.”

Flickr is one of the world's leading online photo sharing communities where people explore, find, manage and share images with friends and colleagues. With more than 40 million worldwide visitors each month and more than 2 billion photos stored, Flickr serves as the 'eyes of the world' and has revolutionized the sharing and discovery of what people see and experience through photos.  Yahoo! Maps provides street maps and driving directions online, as well as a host of interactive features including address books, traffic incident markers and road condition reports.

“Integrating Yahoo! properties into the evolving Octopz platform significantly extends the value of our collaboration solution.” said Ron McKenzie, CEO of Octopz. “Yahoo! has one of the world’s largest user bases and is a company committed to working with the developer community.  Through Yahoo!’s API’s and Developer Network, Octopz is now able to seamlessly integrate with their applications and web services.”

Offered on a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) basis, Octopz was developed specifically to meet the needs of creative professionals and enables up to five people to synchronously view and markup an unprecedented range of documents, including digital media, and to communicate via built-in text, voice and video chat. Octopz uses intuitive navigation and tool icons, requires nothing more than a Flash-enabled web browser, and uses integrated SSL encryption to ensure security. In addition, Octopz can be integrated (via Flash, API’s and web services) with existing applications.

Octopz launched at the first Web 2.0 Expo in 2007, and was named one of the ‘Top Five’ Web 2.0 services at the show by the editors of Webware.com. Since then, Octopz has been identified as a 2007 rising star by InfoWorld, selected by Red Herring as one of the ten hottest startups in Canada, named one of Canada’s Companies-to-Watch as part of the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, recognized as a Branham300 ‘Top 25 Up and Comer’ and has been a finalist in the Webware 100 awards two years in a row.

-30-

About Yahoo! Canada
Yahoo! Canada Co. is a leading Internet destination that provides online products and services to meet the needs of Canadians and offers a range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users. Yahoo! Canada services Canadians in both English and in French through its sites, www.yahoo.ca and www.qc.yahoo.com . Yahoo! Canada is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

About Octopz Inc.
Octopz Inc. (www.octopz.com ) develops advanced online collaboration technologies built specifically for today’s creative professionals. With fully integrated support for text messaging, VoIP and webcams, Octopz allows colleagues and partners anywhere in the world to work together securely in real-time, or individually at their own convenience, using multiple document types. Team members can then save and archive their work for subsequent retrieval, review and feedback. The result is accelerated decision making and speed-to-market – a significant competitive edge.

For more information about Yahoo! Canada Co. contact:
Clive Hobson
Public Relations Manager
Yahoo! Canada
416 848-6184
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

For more information about Octopz contact:
Ann Christie
Vice President, Marketing
Octopz Inc.
416.673.8187
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it