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Axalto Selects Finalists in 2004 e-gate Open Contest, the Worldwide USB Smart Card Developer Program

Co-sponsored by Sun Microsystems and ST Microelectronics, the contest aims at driving the next generation of Java^TM smart card applications

CarTech SecurTech, Washington D.C., April 27, 2004 - Axalto, a Schlumberger company and the world's leading provider of microprocessor cards, in association with Sun Microsystems and ST Microelectronics, today announced the six finalists of the e-gate Open 2004 contest. Participants - software developers across the globe - were invited to develop new secure e-business solutions or applications using the Axalto e-gate technology and Sun's Java CardTM technology, which allows smart cards to be connected directly to the USB port of any computing device, without the need for a reader.

The second edition of the contest gathered more than 80 projects submitted from more than 22 countries. All entries were judged by an international panel composed of journalists, industry leaders and smart card experts. Projects were assessed according to key criteria such as innovation, marketing appeal, ease of implementation, cost-effectiveness, security and business potential.

The contest will award a total of 36,000 US dollars (30,000 euros), an international business and study trip to the Olympic Games of Athens, as well as potential assistance with developing and marketing the selected applications.

“For the second edition of the e-gate Open contest, we saw many exciting ideas for USB smart card applications that will enhance our business tomorrow, provide nice solutions to the ever-increasing demand for the digital world security, and affect every day life, using the very best of technology and creativity” comments Olivier Piou, Axalto Chief Executive Officer. “The Axalto e-gate Open contest continues to challenge creative minds from all over the world to leverage the high potential of e-gate technology for smart and user-friendly applications”.

The six finalists are:

• Beihang University (China)
• eSmart Lock (Greece)
• Eupki (Romania)
• Trusted Peer Technologies (USA)
• University Of Versailles and Inria Rocquencourt (France)
• UUPPS (Spain)

The finalists will be demonstrating their creative USB card applications during the CT/ST show, in Axalto booth 425. The final winners will be announced at the Axalto reception on April 27.

About Axalto

Axalto (Euronext: NL0000400653 AXL) is the world's leading provider of microprocessor cards (Gartner Dataquest 2004) — the key to digital networks — and a major supplier of point-of-sale terminals. Its 4500 employees come from 70 nationalities and serve customers in more than 100 countries, with worldwide sales reaching 3 billion smart cards to date. The company has 25 years' experience in smart card innovation and leads its industry in security technology and open systems.

Axalto continuously creates new generations of products for use in a variety of applications in the telecommunications, finance, retail, transport, entertainment, healthcare, personal identification, information technology and public sector markets. Microprocessor cards provide convenience, security and privacy to public and private services operators, their customers and end users.

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For more info, please visit www.axalto.com

Emmanuelle Saby

Public Relations Manager

Axalto

Tel : +33 (0)1 46 00 71 04

Fax : +33 (0)1 46 00 67 13

To contact me