Opera Press Release

Opera and Troll Tech Agree to Cross Platform Browser

Making the popular browser available on the successful Linux platform

Oslo, Norway - Mar. 2, 1999

Troll Tech AS, producer of the Qt cross-platform application framework and Opera Software AS, producer of Opera, the fastest and most user friendly Internet browser, today announced a cooperative development effort to make Opera available on the increasingly popular Linux platform. This initiative between the two companies, Opera Software AS and Troll Tech AS, is taken to secure a rapid offering of the Opera web browser on the Linux platform.

The first prototype will be showcased this week at the Linux World Expo in San Jose. The Linux version of Opera is based on Qt, Troll Tech's widely used cross-platform application framework. Troll Tech started the porting of the user interface and the general framework three weeks ago, and has already produced a working prototype. The development team consisted of seven Troll Tech engineers who ported the browser to Linux by replacing the source code that uses Windows with source code that uses Qt. The core browser functionality will now be ported to Linux by engineers from Opera Software.

"Opera customers have long wanted a Linux version. Through this initiative we are happy to announce that a Linux version of Opera will be soon available " said, Jon von Tetzchner, Managing Director of Opera Software AS. When we started to work with Troll Tech three weeks ago, we did not expect to see a working browser on Linux so quickly. We are impressed by the performance of the Troll Tech team and the quality of their toolkit. We expect a first Linux version to be released Q2 1999".

"Porting Opera to Linux is an interesting challenge for Troll Tech. The browser - Opera, is known for being much faster and more compact than Explorer or Netscape Navigator." said Haavard Nord, CEO of Troll Tech AS.

About Troll Tech AS

Troll Tech AS enables their customers to rapidly develop efficient, maintainable, commercial-grade software by providing software components, development tools, and technical support, contract and consulting services. Troll Tech's flagship product Qt is a cross-platform user interface framework. It provides application developers with all the functionality needed to build state-of-the-art graphical user interfaces. Qt is fully object-oriented, easily extensible, and allows true component programming. It is fully supported on Windows 95/98/NT, Linux, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, Digital Unix, IBM AIX, SGI IRIX and a wide range of other platforms. Since 1994, Qt has formed the basis of hundreds of successful applications worldwide. Troll Tech is located in Oslo, Norway. Further information is available at www.troll.no.

About Opera Software

Opera Software ASA is an industry leader in the development of Web browsers for the desktop and embedded markets, partnering with companies such as IBM, AMD, Symbian, Canal+ Technologies, Ericsson, Sharp and Lineo (now a division of Embedix). The Opera browser has received international recognition from end users and the industry press for being faster, smaller and more standards-compliant than other browsers. Opera is available on Windows, Mac, Linux/Solaris, OS/2, Symbian OS and QNX. Opera Software ASA is a privately held company headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.