SpatialNews Press Release

DigitalGlobe Signs MAPS geosystems as a Reseller Serving the Middle East and East, Central and West Africa

www.maps-geosystems.com

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Longmont, Colo., September 23, 2002 - DigitalGlobe announced that MAPS geosystems has partnered with DigitalGlobe to become a reseller of QuickBird satellite imagery for the Middle East and East, Central and West Africa. MAPS is the leading producer and supplier of geographic data for these regions.

Combining data, software and systems engineering to provide clients with a range of products and services, MAPS has traditionally relied heavily on aerial photography as a data source. While aerial photography continues to be a core offering to MAPS clients, MAPS' new offering of high-resolution satellite imagery provides an economic alternative for applications requiring quick turn-around. For geographic regions that are difficult to access due to terrain or restricted airspace, QuickBird satellite imagery provides an effective solution.

"QuickBird allows us to provide services that until now were simply out of reach for many countries in our area of operation," said Rolf Becker, technical director of MAPS. "The integration of satellite images in our projects - as either stand-alone or supplemental products to aerial photography - has a long history at MAPS. The universal access and superior image quality from QuickBird are required for responding to the increasing demand for information."

"There has always been a gap between large-scale aerial photography and satellite image definition that has now been filled by the QuickBird imagery," said Jean-Louis Hissette, director of business development. "Small projects were relatively expensive to be carried out by aerial photography due to mobilization costs. QuickBird imagery is the answer to these projects because of the global access," he added.

"MAPS is an outstanding addition to our International Reseller Network," said Joe Thurgood, vice president of Marketing at DigitalGlobe. "MAPS' approach to providing end-user solutions is poised to greatly expand the market for high-resolution satellite imagery throughout the Middle East and much of Africa."

About MAPS geosystems

Operating from offices in Germany, Portugal, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and with project support offices in another eight countries, MAPS provides comprehensive services in the fields of data acquisition and integration of geographic information systems. MAPS has in-house capacity for a full range of services including aerial photography, geodetic and engineering surveys, photogrammetry, digital terrain modeling, and vector and orthophoto maps production. With 20 percent of its technical staff grouped in Systems Engineering, MAPS plays an important role in the development of advanced production procedures. The company's newly introduced PromptServer is one of the many solutions introduced by MAPS that addresses the demand for high quality data production as well as efficient data access and usage by the end-user. Included in the MAPS Group of companies is GISTEC, the ESRI distributor in the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1974, MAPS oversees over 1000 projects executed in 55 countries. More information can be found at www.maps-geosystems.com.

About DigitalGlobe

DigitalGlobe is an imagery and information company located in Longmont, Colorado. DigitalGlobe is establishing a market leadership position by providing the highest-resolution satellite imagery product offering, the greatest collection capacity, and the largest image size commercially available. Currently, there are no plans to launch a comparable commercial satellite until at least 2004. The company offers geographic information products through its digitalglobe.com on-line imagery store, an Internet-based global archive of geographic information available to commercial businesses. More information can be found at www.digitalglobe.com.

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