Global Sources Online 2.0 to Provide More Products and Suppliers, Usher in Next-Generation China Sourcing for Global Buyers

Global Sources Online 2.0 to Provide More Products and Suppliers, Usher in Next-Generation China Sourcing for Global Buyers

August 07, 2007

    HONG KONG, Aug. 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Global Sources
(Nasdaq: GSOL), the world's leading B2B portal, will usher
in next-generation sourcing with the launch of Global
Sources Online 2.0 ( http://www.globalsources.com ) in
October.  The new site will utilize a proprietary search
engine with vertical search capabilities.

    (Logo: http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/200708071747.jpg )

    The new search engine aims to provide buyers with the
most comprehensive listing of all relevant suppliers in the
market.  It will include Global Sources suppliers, an
aggregated directory of China suppliers and suppliers
listed on the World Wide Web.

    It will clearly differentiate between supplier
information that has been verified and that which has not. 
At launch, the new search engine is expected to effectively
double the amount of product and supplier content available
to buyers using Global Sources Online.

    Global Sources' Chairman and CEO, Merle A. Hinrichs,
said: "We expect Global Sources Online 2.0 to
significantly change the way global buyers source and the
way suppliers market.

    "Our vertical search engine increases buyers'
ability to find the products they need while reducing time
and costs.  It does this by providing a single site for
thousands of Global Sources-verified export-ready
suppliers, plus tens of thousands of suppliers aggregated
from supplier websites and other marketplaces on the
web."

    Using a proprietary algorithm and index, the search
engine will focus solely on presenting buyers with
pertinent product and supplier content that is expertly
classified, indexed and consolidated in one place.

    Focus on Quality Suppliers -- New Dynamic Supplier
Verification Tools

    Hinrichs stressed the importance of supplier
qualification. "The internet today is crowded with
questionable information from questionable suppliers.
Recent cases of product safety issues and sub-standard
quality from China have made international headlines,
highlighting the challenges buyers face in finding quality
suppliers to work with.

    "Buyers trust Global Sources because our suppliers
have been carefully verified through personal visits from
our team of professionals." 

    Global Sources Online clearly indicates as `Verified
suppliers' those companies that have met Global Sources'
strict verification criteria.

    Global Sources Online 2.0 will also offer dynamic
supplier validation tools for buyers.  For those suppliers
who subscribe, the following information may be included on
their websites:

    -- Suppliers' third party certifications, credit
ratings, consumer 
       standards met, and manufacturing processes adhered
to;
    -- Confirmation that the supplier does not employ
prison or child labor;  
       and
    -- Confirmation that products do not include
ingredients from endangered 
       species or otherwise environmentally unacceptable
ingredients.

    Global Sources also plans to strengthen its existing
policy to help buyers or intellectual property owners with
investigations of intellectual property concerns. 

    The objective is to facilitate buyers' information and
sourcing needs, and to help suppliers differentiate
themselves substantially from those unable or unwilling to
qualify or quantify their company services.

    Hinrichs said: "With this new initiative, Global
Sources extends its industry leadership using the latest
technology, meeting the standards of the industry, and the
expectations of both buyers and sellers.

    "This exciting advancement is just the latest in
our 36-year history of innovation and leadership."

    In 1995, Global Sources was the first company to
provide online marketing services to Asia's exporters and
manufacturers.  It was also the first to provide suppliers
with a fully integrated marketing service, including:

    -- Online marketplace for awareness and lead
generation;
    -- Magazine advertising for differentiation and brand
building; and
    -- China Sourcing Fairs (
http://www.chinasourcingfair.com ) for meeting 
       buyers, negotiating and receiving orders.
    
    This end-to-end solution allows exporters to meet their
export marketing objectives, from awareness and lead
generation, brand building and differentiation, right
through to negotiating and receiving orders.

    Special Website Trial Offer for China Exporters

    Global Sources will offer a special incentive for a
selected group of qualified China manufacturers and
exporters.

    "With this introductory program, China suppliers
can experience the unparalleled quality of our buyer
community," Hinrichs said. "Once they fully
appreciate the results, we are confident they will buy our
full export promotional services online, in magazines and
at our China Sourcing Fairs."

    End-To-End Export Marketing Solution

    Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com )
is part of the company's comprehensive print, online and
face-to-face export solution which also includes Global
Sources trade magazines, China Sourcing Fairs (
http://www.chinasourcingfair.com ), Private Sourcing Events
( http://www.privatesourcingevents.com ) and Global Sources
Direct ( http://www.globalsourcesdirect.com ).

    About Global Sources 

    Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B)
media company and a primary facilitator of two-way trade
with Greater China.  The core business is facilitating
trade from Greater China to the world, using a wide range
of English-language media.  The other key business segment
facilitates trade from the world to Greater China using
Chinese-language media. 

    The company provides sourcing information to volume
buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers.  It
helps a community of over 635,000 active buyers source more
profitably from complex overseas supply markets.  With the
goal of providing the most effective ways possible to
advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables
suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 230
countries.

    The company offers the most extensive range of media
and export marketing services in the industries it serves. 
It delivers information on 1.8 million products and more
than 150,000 suppliers annually through 13 online
marketplaces, 12 monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing
research reports and nine specialized trade shows which run
22 times a year across seven cities. 

    Suppliers receive more than 18 million sales leads
annually from buyers through Global Sources Online (
http://www.globalsources.com ) alone.

    Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for
36 years.  In mainland China it has over 1,700 team members
in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million
registered online users and magazine readers for
Chinese-language media. 

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This news release contains forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27-A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended and Section 21-E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended.  The company's actual results could
differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements as a result of the risks
associated with the company's business, changes in general
economic conditions, and changes in the assumptions used in
making such forward-looking statements. 






    For more information, please contact:

    Global Sources Press Contact in Asia:
     Camellia So
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Global Sources Investor Contact in Asia:
     Eddie Heng
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Global Sources Press Contact in U.S.:
     James W.W. Strachan 
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

    Global Sources Investor Contact in U.S.:
     Moriah Shilton & Christiane Pelz
     Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]