Wirecard Bank: first German bank in Second Life

With immediate effect, Wirecard Bank AG is the first German bank to open a branch in the virtual 3D online world Second Life®.

Berlin, Munich / Grasbrunn, 16 May 2007
With immediate effect, Wirecard Bank AG is the first German bank to open a branch in the virtual 3D online world Second Life®. As a result, internationally Wirecard Bank AG is the seventh bank from the real "brick & mortar" world to be represented in the virtual universe of Linden Lab®.

Wirecard Bank AG now is the first German financial service provider to open a branch of its own in the 3D online world Second Life. In the virtual world, specially trained Wirecard Bank service personnel are available to assist customers. Customer advisers are represented by avatars in the branches, answering questions on the products and services of the Wirecard Bank. In addition, access to Wirecard's payment services is available via Second Life. Interactive entertainment campaigns serve to round off the offer of Wirecard Bank AG on an island of its own in Second Life.

In the process, Wirecard AG does not perceive its commitment to Second Life as an isolated step but pursues a strategic overall concept. For instance, in the booming market of online games, the payment and financial service provider is also positioning itself in Entropia Universe by MindArk PE AB, a virtual world consisting of more than 580,000 members with an annual trading volume of over 360 million U.S. dollars. Not only is it possible to acquire virtual objects or properties within Entropia Universe; in the near future it will also be possible to visit a further virtual branch office of the Wirecard Bank online.

"The intelligent link between technology and banking services is an objective that has been pursued by Wirecard Bank AG from the outset. To reinforce this strategic positioning on the market, the commitment to Second Life represents a logical step as far as we are concerned", says Burkhard Ley, Chief Financial Officer of the Wirecard AG and Wirecard Bank AG, in explaining how the virtual branch came to be opened.

Virtual worlds are currently experiencing breathtaking levels of growth. According to an estimate by the German professional IT assocation Bitkom, sales revenues with online games in 2006 were up by well over a third year-on-year, to reach 3.4 billion euros. In five years, the worldwide market volume is to increase to approx. ten billion euros. With more than six million members worldwide and a daily trading volume of roughly 1.5 million U.S. dollars, Second Life is among the fastest-growing virtual worlds on the Internet.

Wirecard in Second Life:
slurl.com/secondlife/Wirecard/128/128/0

Wirecard-Media contact:

Wirecard PR&IR Office
Iris Stöckl
Bretonischer Ring 4
85630 Grasbrunn, Germany
Ph. : +49 (0) 89 4424 0424
Fax: +49 (0) 89 4424 0524
E-Mail: iris.stoeckl@wirecard.com
Internet: www.wirecard.com

About Wirecard:

Wirecard AG is one of the leading international providers of electronic payment systems and risk management services. The Company supplies customers with a wide range of national and global payment options as well as industry and country-specific risk management services to minimize the occurrence of defaults on receivables. Wirecard Bank AG is a Principal Member of VISA, MasterCard Europe, JCB International and complements the portfolio of services. The Wirecard software platform is used by more than 7,000 enterprises across the globe, including dba, Gulf Air, HSE24 and QVC. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI).
www.wirecardbank.de - www.wirecard.de

Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc., USA.
secondlife.com/corporate/trademark/

Entropia Universe is a registered trademark of MindArk PE AB, Schweden. www.entropiauniverse.com oder www.mindark.com