MUNICH, Germany and GENT, Belgium, July 14, 2003 ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions, today announced that ScanSoft's RealSpeak™ text-to-speech has been selected as the voice for the educational software developed for Microsoft's language initiative "Schlaumaeuse," a comprehensive educational project in Germany. Designed to support the speaking capabilities of young children from ages 4 to 6 in day care facilities around Germany, Microsoft's educational program is supported by UNICEF, German politicians, the Cornelesen Publishing House, and other hardware and software vendors such as Hewlett-Packard and ScanSoft.

Through late 2004, two hundred day care centers will be outfitted with a media package containing a tablet PC that includes specially developed language learning software including parts of Cornelsen's educational software LollyPop and ScanSoft's RealSpeak. In addition to other features, the children will be able to hear the words they have written on the tablet PC read out to them with ScanSoft's RealSpeak text-to-speech technology, helping them to understand the connection between written and spoken language and improve their intonation and pronunciation.

"Educational projects are especially important for Microsoft, and this initiative continues our social commitment in this field. 'Schlaumaeuse' targets children who grow up in socially underprivileged family environments and lets them experience their language," said Juergen Gallmann, general manager, Microsoft Germany.

ScanSoft RealSpeak is the industry's preeminent text-to-speech engine for converting text to human-sounding synthesized speech, offering unmatched global language support. RealSpeak has proven itself as a highly scalable solution within a wide range of applications from leading organizations, including the FIFA World Cup, Nortel, Ericsson, IBM and in other educational programs from Cornelsen, Auralog and Oxford University Press.

"ScanSoft is pleased to provide the text-to-speech technologies behind this renowned initiative, and speech-enabled computers make learning fun and easy for children of all ages," said Peter Hauser, senior vice president and general manager for ScanSoft International. "The use of speech in this initiative demonstrates the momentum we see in more mainstream applications, particularly in areas such as education."

More information on the project in Germany can be found at www.schlaumaeuse.de.

About ScanSoft® RealSpeak™

ScanSoft RealSpeak is the most widely used TTS solution in the world. RealSpeak is able to read, understand, and convert text information into the most human-sounding male and female voices available. The high quality and intelligibility of RealSpeak enable businesses to deploy highly interactive and user-friendly applications, and with applications like SMS, provide a new level of freedom and ease-of-use to consumers everywhere. The technology is also used for a wide range of applications, including delivering emails for unified messaging systems, providing prompts for interactive voice response (IVR) applications, and speech-enabling mobile, automotive, game and PC/multi-media applications.

About ScanSoft Inc.

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 may be trademarks of their respective owners.

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with market trends, competitive factors, and other risks identified in ScanSoft'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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