MCI Ranks #1 For Best Online Customer Experience

--International Research Firm Finds MCI Leads Telecom Industry For Second Consecutive Time--

ASHBURN, Va., March 25, 2004 - MCI (WCOEQ, MCWEQ) today announced it received the number one ranking for delivering the best overall online customer experience in the U.S. telecom and networking industry, according to The Customer Respect Group's Spring 2004 Online Customer Respect Study. In addition to outperforming the largest telecommunications and networking companies for the second time in a row, MCI received high marks for its ease of navigation, customer focus, open and honest policies, and responsiveness.

The Customer Respect Group, an independent international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their customers online, ranked MCI first with a 9.0 Customer Respect Index (CRI). Touted by The Customer Respect Group as the only study to bring objective measure to the analysis of corporate performance from an online customer's perspective, the Firm assigns a CRI to each company on a scale of zero to 10 (with 10 being the highest), measuring the customer's online experience when interacting with companies via the Internet.

"MCI offers a highly navigable customer-focused site that provides open and honest privacy policies," said Roger Fairchild, president of The Customer Respect Group. "Moreover, we found that MCI responded quickly and thoroughly to our online inquiries. We commend MCI for its continued emphasis on providing a high-quality online experience for its customers."

"Creating the best customer experience was the top priority for us in the development of our Web site," said Ron McMurtrie, MCI vice president of Marketing. "This recognition from The Customer Respect Group is further validation that MCI is delivering premier service and communication through the Web."

As part of its comprehensive research, The Customer Respect Study also found that:

• MCI outperformed all 40 telecom and networking firms evaluated, which rank among the country's largest 1000 companies. The industry average CRI score was 7.0.
• MCI received high marks for Responsiveness-routinely responding within 24 hours and, most often, within the same business day.
• Overall, the telecom/networking sector received the highest average score among the five industries studied to date in 2004.

MCI's Web site, www.mci.com, focuses on providing a wide range of information to MCI business and residential customers and other key stakeholders. At www.mci.com, customers can manage their accounts online, get answers to customer service questions, download white papers, and find in-depth information on MCI's progress, products and services, and more. The site highlights a menu of interactive features and breaking news updates.

The twice-yearly Customer Respect Survey was developed and conducted by The Customer Respect Group to provide objective analysis of corporate performance from an online customer's perspective. By interviewing a representative sample of the adult population, and by analyzing more than 1000 Web sites across a spectrum of industries in detail, The Customer Respect Group has determined the attributes that combine to create the entire online customer experience. These attributes have been grouped together and measured as indicators of Simplicity (ease of navigation), Privacy (respects customer privacy), Attitude (customer-focus of site), Transparency (open and honest policies), Responsiveness (quick and thorough responses to inquiries) and Principles (values and respects customer data). Combined they measure a company's overall Customer Respect.

About The Customer Respect Group
The Customer Respect Group is an international research and consulting firm that uses its Customer Respect Index (CRI(TM)) methodology to help companies improve how they treat their customers online. It provides leadership in the objective and scientific measurement of a customer's online experience. Many of the largest U.S. companies have already adopted the CRI methodology to improve online customer satisfaction and loyalty. The Customer Respect Group is headquartered in Bellevue, WA. For additional information, visit www.customerrespect.com.

About WorldCom, Inc.
WorldCom, Inc. (WCOEQ, MCWEQ), which, together with its subsidiaries, currently conducts business under the MCI brand name, is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective, advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With the industry's most expansive global IP backbone, based on the number of company-owned points-of-presence (POPs), and wholly-owned data networks, WorldCom develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market. For more information, go to http://www.mci.com.

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