PEABODY, Mass. and GENT, Belgium, November 21, 2002 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions, today announced that Polkomtel, a leading mobile communications carrier in Poland, has selected ScanSoft® RealSpeak™ to provide subscribers of the Plus GSM network with access to e-mail through a telephone. Polkomtel is the first company in Poland and one of the first in Eastern Europe to incorporate text-to-speech capabilities into mobile telephony solutions.

Polkomtel's service is designed to help users increase mobility, efficiency and simplicity in their message handling. ScanSoft RealSpeak converts text-based messages into spoken messages with a natural-sounding, computer-generated voice. As part of the service, when Plus GSM subscribers receive an incoming text-based e-mail message, the system automatically analyzes it to determine if it is in Polish or English and then reads it aloud in the appropriate language using RealSpeak.

"Offering e-mail reading to Plus GSM subscribers will lead to increased revenue and customer satisfaction," said a Polkomtel representative. "We are extremely satisfied with the performance, quality and the natural sound of ScanSoft RealSpeak, which allows us to offer our clients a state-of-the-art voice interface."

"ScanSoft is committed to providing the technology backbone to innovative services such as Plus GSM's mobile e-mail access," said Peter Hauser, senior vice president and general manager for ScanSoft International. "By voice-enabling these applications, customers can achieve optimum levels of productivity by accessing and managing e-mail messages through a mobile phone, wherever and whenever needed."

About ScanSoft RealSpeak

ScanSoft RealSpeak is the most widely used product for converting text into natural-sounding, synthesized speech. The product is used for a wide range of applications, including reading emails for unified messaging systems, providing prompts for interactive voice response applications, and speech-enabling mobile, automotive, game and PC/multi-media applications. It supports a range of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Windows CE and Windows CE for Automotive, as well as Intel-based Linux systems. RealSpeak is available in up to 19 languages, depending upon platform, including US and UK English, German, French, Dutch and Belgian Dutch, Castilian and Mexican Spanish, Italian, European and Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Danish, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Japanese. ScanSoft's RealSpeak is distributed and implemented in Poland by system integrators such as Wind Telecom, a leading Polish computer telephony integrator (CTI), whose website is www.wind.pl.

About Polkomtel

Polkomtel S.A. is an operator of the Plus GSM network, which was launched on 1 October 1996. The Plus GSM network provides services to over 4.1 million users and is available to 99% of Poland's population inhabiting over 98% of the territory of the country. Plus GSM subscribers have at their disposal a wide range of services based on advanced technology for mobile phones, including General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), fast data transmission HSCSD (Plus GSM is the only GSM operator in Poland providing such services), services based on the Intelligent Network platform, and multimedia messaging services (MMS).

About ScanSoft

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is a 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 regarding ScanSoft® products and technologies, please visit www.ScanSoft.com.

Trademark reference: ScanSoft and RealSpeak are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company names or product names referenced herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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, events 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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