Teen Music Sensations ALY & AJ To Serve As Spokespeople For 2007 SAMSUNG’S Hope For Education Program

Samsung’s Hope for Education, an educational and philanthropic program designed to minimize the technology gap in the educational system today will be partnering with teen music sensations Aly & AJ for its 2007 program. Through a partnership with Microsoft Corporation, Hope for Education will provide more than $2 million in technology and software to K-12 schools in the U.S. that enter an essay competition describing how technology can help improve students’ education. The program, in its fourth year, is a demonstration of the company’s unwavering commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of children and youth in supporting education and technology in schools nationwide.
This year’s program will launch on April 11, at the Samsung Experience in New York City with a special performance and press conference by sister actresses and singer-songwriters Aly & AJ, who are currently working on a new album that will be released July 10. Students and teachers from previous winning schools located in the New York Tri-State Area will be invited to attend and meet the teen superstars.

“We are thrilled to partner with Aly & AJ for the 2007 Hope for Education program. These young women will help Samsung and Microsoft communicate directly to their young fans, many of which attend schools that lack the funding to purchase the kind of technology necessary to keep them competitive with the rest of the world.” said D.J. Oh, president and CEO, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. “This year Samsung and Microsoft are further expanding the Hope for Education program to reach and include the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community. By accepting entries in Spanish, we will increase the opportunity to provide relevant and useful tools to support education.” “We are very excited to be working with Samsung’s Hope for Education to help Samsung and Microsoft raise awareness about how important it is to provide public schools with the latest technology and educational tools,” said Aly & AJ. “Receiving the best education possible has been very important to us, and we encourage all of our fans who want to help better their schools’ technological resources to enter the essay contest and help bridge the technological gap that many schools face.”

In addition to serving as the program spokeswomen, Aly & AJ will assist the Hope for Education Advisory Council on judging the students’ and schools’ essays. The Council is made up of professionals from the academic and editorial communities who are authorities on both education and technology.

New this year, Samsung’s Hope for Education is accepting entries of essays in both Spanish and English. As the 2007 program expands to accept Hispanic entries, so has the Hope for Education Advisory Council. Ivelisse R. Estrada, senior vice president of corporate and community relations for Univision Communications Inc., and Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush, executive editor of El Diario/La Prensa, along with Darlene Pierce of the America Association of School Administrators will be joining existing Hope for Education Council members from Cornell University, the Wharton School of Business, USA TODAY and TWICE (a consumer electronic trade publication).

The Hope for Education contest runs through July 22, 2007. Students, parents, teachers and administrators can enter the contest by going to www.hopeforeducation.com and submit a 100-word essay about their school, answering the question: “What is the single most significant benefit that technology can provide in the classroom?”

Schools that submit essays are entered for the opportunity to win either the grand prize of $200,000 in Samsung technology and Microsoft software or one of 30 first prizes of $60,000 in Samsung technology and Microsoft software. The technology prizes include Samsung’s latest, award-winning products, such as Plasma, LCD, and DLP high definition televisions; Ultra Mobile PCs; multi-function products; Smart Phones; digital camcorders; DVD players, LCD computer monitors, color printers and Microsoft’s latest, award-winning software, such as Microsoft Student, Encarta, Office, etc. Anyone who submits a winning entry on behalf of a winning school will be awarded a Samsung Ultra Mobile PC with Windows Vista.

“Microsoft shares Samsung’s passion and vision for improving teaching and learning opportunities through the use of technology in the classroom,” said Anthony Salcito, general manager of U.S. education at Microsoft. “Through our continued partnership with Samsung, we hope to recognize deserving schools and provide students with the tools that will help them realize their potential and prepare them for a global future.”

The Hope for Education contest was first announced in 2004 at the opening of the Samsung Experience, a unique and creative technology emporium in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Since the original launch, more than 220 U.S. schools have benefited from over $5 million in Samsung technology and Microsoft software.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA) markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products; and oversees Samsung’s North American operations, including Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Semiconductor Inc., Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. Its parent company, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., ranks #5 in the 2006 Consumer Electronics segment of the Fortune Magazine “America’s Most Admired Companies,” and ranks # 20 in the BusinessWeek “The Best Global Brand 100 2006.” Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. is a top patent holder, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2006. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2006 parent company sales of US$63.4 billion and net income of US$8.5 billion. Employing approximately 138,000 people in 124 offices in 56 countries, the company consists of five main business areas: Digital Media, Telecommunication Network, Semiconductor, LCD, and Digital Appliance. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software; services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Aly & AJ
Sisters Aly and AJ are actresses, singer-songwriters and guitarists whose album “Into The Rush” sold over a million copies. Their Christmas CD, “Acoustic Hearts of Christmas” was one of the top-selling CDs of the season. Currently Aly & AJ are working on a new album that will be released July 10 and their worldwide tour will begin in mid-Summer. Aly and AJ have released songs for many different films including hits such as “No One” that was featured in the motion picture Ice Princess; a rockin’ cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic;” and a cover of Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” that was featured in the major motion picture Herbie: Fully Loaded. In addition to their music, Aly & AJ star in the new MTV movie, “Super Sweet 16,” which debuts on July 7.