ASCII Signs Distribution Agreement with ScanSoft for New Japanese Versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Partnership with ASCII Expands ScanSoft's Global Leadership in Desktop Speech Recognition and Automatic Dictation Applications

PEABODY, Mass., May 22, 2002 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions, today announced that ASCII, a leading software publisher based in Japan, has signed an agreement to distribute Japanese versions of ScanSoft's Dragon NaturallySpeaking® desktop dictation applications. Under the agreement, ASCII will distribute two new versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking - Dragon Speech Partner and Dragon Speech Select - that automatically recognize Japanese speech.

ScanSoft's Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the most accurate speech recognition product for the PC, allowing users to create documents and use Microsoft® Windows® applications by voice. The product accurately converts speech into text at up to 160 words-per-minute and also adds speech recognition for command and control in Web browsers, instant messaging applications, email products and many Windows applications including Microsoft Office. The leading product in North America and Europe, the Dragon products offer enhanced productivity and overcome the complexity of entering Japanese characters and words into a personal computer.

"At ASCII, we thrive on delivering the highest quality software to our customers, and there is no higher quality speech product than the Dragon NaturallySpeaking family," said Masaru Harada, Deputy General Manager, NetMedia Division. "We are pleased to partner with a proven leader such as ScanSoft, and we are eager to deliver the productivity benefits of speech recognition to office workers and PC users in Japan."

"With ASCII, we have a successful and trusted partner that will accelerate the sales of our Dragon product line in Japan," said Wayne Crandall, senior vice president of sales and business development, at ScanSoft. "The ASCII/ScanSoft distribution agreement is the first of its kind in the Japanese market for speech recognition, and marks a key milestone for ScanSoft's expansion in Asia Pacific."

The two Japanese versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking provide users the freedom to select the product that best meets their specific needs. Each contains advanced features that make them highly accurate and easy to use. The software includes a vocabulary of more than 250,000 terms to enhance accuracy and supports automatic punctuation to ease dictation for new users. The two versions include:

• Dragon Speech Select is used by office workers and professionals to automatically dictate into word-processing applications and speech-enable their PC programs. It also allows natural language commands to control the Windows operating system, an important feature that enhances productivity and accessibility.
  
  
• Dragon Speech Partner is used at home to control PC applications using speech. The product is ideal for using speech to browse the Web, enter instant message text and create emails.
  
  

Pricing and Availability

The new Japanese versions of ScanSoft's Dragon NaturallySpeaking are available immediately through ASCII's network of retail organizations. Suggested prices include:

About ASCII

ASCII was founded in 1977 as a publishing corporation and today is the pioneer of the Japanese IT industry as well as the leader of publishing field. ASCII covers the following business areas, publishing for IT business and multimedia education and delivery of Internet content. Currently, ASCII is the software republisher for the following sectors, education, multimedia, and network fields and has existing republishing contracts with the following brands, ScanSoft, RealNetworks, Connectix, SurfControl, in addition to other software vendors. Please visit www.ascii.co.jp/english for more information.

About ScanSoft

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information about ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.ScanSoft.com.

Trademark reference: ScanSoft and Dragon NaturallySpeaking are registered trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and trade names mentioned herein are recognized and may be registered to their respective holders.

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with market trends, competitive factors, and other risks identified in the Company's SEC filings. Actual results, event and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

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