BROOMFIELD, Colorado, May 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Level 3 to Provide Two Full-Rate 10 GigE Ports

Level 3 Communications' Content Markets Group today announced that it has been selected by Linden Lab(R), the creators of Second Life(R), that company's rapidly growing 3D virtual world, to provide High Speed Internet Access and Wavelengths via two 10 gigabits per second (GigE) ports, connecting Second Life's data centers in San Francisco and Dallas.

Second Life is a 3D online world with a growing population of users -- or "Residents" -- in which the Residents themselves create and build the world, which includes homes, vehicles, nightclubs, stores, landscapes, clothing, and games. The Second Life Grid is a sophisticated development platform created by Linden Lab to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D experience.

"During the past 15 months, Second Life's population has expanded from 100,000 to more than five million registered users worldwide," said Joe Miller, vice president, Platform and Technology Development for Linden Lab. "Level 3's tier 1 infrastructure and 10 gigabit capacity will help us to enable Second Life's 'Residents' to experience fast, reliable access, and allow us to increase bandwidth as our needs and user growth dictate."

"Second Life is an innovative concept that continues to gain significant acceptance by consumers around the globe," said Brady Rafuse, president of Level 3's Content Markets Group. "We are looking forward to supporting Second Life and its 'Residents' with our highly scalable network, designed specifically for bandwidth-intensive applications."

Level 3 continues to invest in its network, and with one of the world's largest IP backbones, the company provides reliable, high capacity bandwidth to meet growing traffic demand from customers with rich media applications. Level 3 offers Internet connectivity in 175 markets in addition to a comprehensive suite of network services that provide building blocks for its customers' diverse service offerings. Level 3 has the scale, performance and service portfolio to support content delivery solutions as its customers' network needs evolve.

About Level 3 Communications

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT), an international communications company, operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world. Through its customers, Level 3 is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services over its broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, voice services and voice over IP services. These services provide building blocks that enable Level 3's customers to meet their growing demands for advanced communications solutions. The company's Web address is www.Level3.com.

"Level 3 Communications," "Level 3" and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC. in the United States and/or other countries. Any other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements that we make in this press release are forward- looking in nature. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our stated goals include, but are not limited to our ability to: successfully integrate acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on our network; defend our intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of our debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.

Web site: http://www.level3.com

Media, Jennifer Daumler, +1-720-888-3356, or Investors, Robin Grey, +1-720-888-2518, or Valerie Finberg, +1-720-888-2501, all of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990721/LVLTLOGO ; PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com