PITTSBURGH and BALTIMORE -- Marconi (MONI) today introduced ViPr (TM), a new network appliance that enables military and government personnel to create secure, high resolution, real-time, multimedia communications between geographically dispersed locations, even over high-speed encrypted circuits. Delivering a new level of DVD-quality video and CD-sharp sound for point-to-multi-point desktop communications, ViPr turns the vision of virtual presence into an every-day tool for better executive decision-making. ViPr dramatically improves network-centric decision-making through remote visual collaboration and by integrating content that includes real-time, high-definition video streams, distributed super-computer processing and storage area networking. Experience real-time, global demonstrations of ViPr at SC2002, a conference of high-performance computing, networking and data technologies, in the Baltimore Convention Center, Nov. 18 - 21, where sites in Honolulu, HI; Belleville, IL; Stuttgart, Germany; and Washington, D.C will be linked with Marconi booth 1113. ViPr also is being demonstrated at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and through every-day user-experiences in several government locations. "Marconi's introduction of a virtual presence appliance with the quality and ease of use of ViPr heralds a new benchmark in desktop, real-time collaboration and multipoint conferencing that will dramatically accelerate and enhance executive decision-making in government, military and corporate enterprise markets," said Berge Ayvazian, vice chairman of the Yankee Group, a globally established leader in technology, research and consulting services. "In ViPr, Marconi is introducing a powerful, yet user-friendly communications tool that may well become as intuitive, essential and ubiquitous as the telephone is today based upon user-experience thus far." Marconi plc