has joined the European Umbrella Organization for Geographic Information (EUROGI), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to maximizing the availability and effective use of geographic information (GI) throughout Europe. EUROGI believes that its efforts will help promote good governance, economic and social development, environmental protection, and sustainability.

            Comments Joao Geirinhas, secretary general of EUROGI, "EUROGI welcomes ESRI as the newest private sector member in our organization. We believe that the experience ESRI has gained through its long-term commitment in supporting relevant GI stakeholders will be a major benefit to the further development of our organization."

            Adds Jack Dangermond, ESRI president, "We are honored to join EUROGI and wholeheartedly support its stated goal of promoting geographic information as a 'fully integrated component of the European knowledge-based society.'"

            Comments Guenther Pichler, business development manager, ESRI Europe, "We look forward to helping EUROGI continue its promotion of the use of geographic information to the many agencies and organizations in the European community. Of particular importance is EUROGI's critical role in raising awareness and creating a capacity for implementing the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) Directive, the Pan-European spatial data infrastructure initiative."

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About EUROGI

EUROGI was created in 1994 following a recommendation by the European Commission (EC) and is established as a foundation under Dutch law. It represents, both directly and indirectly, more than 6,500 European organizations that create and use geographic information. It is organized as a network and is recognized as the professional voice of the European GI world. EUROGI is frequently consulted by the EC and others for advice and information. For additional information, visit its Web site at www.eurogi.org.

About ESRI

Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.