Carlson Hotels brands include Regent Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson and Park Inn.

Minneapolis-based Expedia's portfolio of brands includes Expedia.com, hotels.com, Hotwire, Egencia, TripAdvisor, Expedia Local Expert, Classic Vacations and eLong.

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"We believe that more Americans will shop online during this holiday season than ever before," said Kevin Brand, EarthLink's senior vice president of product management. "Shopping online continues to be a safe and enjoyable experience, and we predict more people will be buying online this season because of the tremendous cost benefits." (http://www.earthlink.net)

It All Starts With Internet Access

Having a solid Internet connection from a company you trust is critical to product ordering, as well as entering your credit card and other personal information. A reliable dial-up connection (http://www.earthlink.net/access/dialup.faces) will do, though a high-speed Internet service like Freestanding DSL (http://www.earthlink.net/access/dsl_freestanding.faces) , DSL (http://www.earthlink.net/access/dsl.faces) or cable Internet (http://www.earthlink.net/access/cable.faces) will speed up your shopping considerably. EarthLink offers a full range of Internet access services nationwide available at http://www.earthlink.net. EarthLink also offers its members a free integrated suite of protection and security features with their Protection Control Center (http://www.earthlink.net/software/staysafe.faces?tab=pcc).

Savvy Shopping

When looking for the best deals, start with a site that lets you compare prices for a wide variety of merchandise. EarthLink offers an easy price comparison tool on its my.EarthLink.net Start Page - http://my.earthlink.net, as well as access to a host of ecommerce partners like Amazon, Expedia and eBay.

Pay the Smart Way

When you're shopping online, a credit card is essential. For added security, some card issuers allow you to set up additional safeguards to protect you while paying for goods online, such as temporary "virtual" account numbers.

Encryption is Your Friend

Any shopping site worthy of your business uses a technology called Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, to encrypt (i.e., scramble) personal information.

There are two ways to tell whether the Web page you're viewing uses SSL - (1) the address of any page that asks for your credit card number or other sensitive information should begin with https:// (2) look for a closed padlock icon within your browser window.

Know Your (Liability) Limits

A smart shopper knows the law when it comes to credit and check/debit card fraud.

Make sure you understand your card's fraud liability policy, which can be found on your credit card's company website.

There are also U.S. federal laws that limit your liability for fraudulent charges on credit and check/debit cards, for details visit www.ftc.gov.

Watch for the Scam

Finally, watch for online scams. Don't automatically assume retailer emails are legitimate; rather type the store's Web address directly into your browser.

EarthLink offers a free Toolbar (http://www.earthlink.net/software/domore.faces?tab=toolbar) to all Internet users that provide security and blocking tools to help protect you from Internet scams and guard information you want to remain private.

Happy Shopping!

SOURCE EarthLink

http://my.earthlink.net

"Our objective is to build the world's largest and most intelligent travel marketplace," said Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia, Inc.'s CEO and president. "Improving our organizational structure will allow us to react more quickly to evolving global markets, more flexibly address traveler needs and better leverage the expertise of our leaders."

Leading the company's worldwide teams are:

-- Eric Grosse -- President, Expedia Worldwide. This group is responsible for Expedia.com in the U.S., all Expedia worldwide sites, and the Media Services Group. Grosse was previously president and co-founder of The Hotwire Group. Prior to founding Hotwire in 2000, Grosse was with Morgan Stanley and also worked in Internet research at DMG Technology Group, where he helped lead the Amazon.com IPO.

-- David Roche -- President, hotels.com Worldwide and Venere.com. This group is responsible for the global hotels.com points of sale, including the recent acquisition of Europe-based Venere.com. Roche joined Expedia in 2003 to lead the hotels.com and Expedia Distribution businesses in the Europe, Middle East & Africa regions. Prior to joining Expedia, Roche founded companies in both the marketing and technology spheres.

-- Henrik Kjellberg -- President, Expedia Distribution Worldwide. This team provides private label booking solutions for travel suppliers looking to enhance and extend their product offerings. Kjellberg has been with Expedia since 2001 and most recently led the Asia Pacific region. His other roles include leading the Europe, Middle East & Africa team for the Partner Services Group. Kjellberg has been on the board of directors for Expedia's majority- owned eLong, Inc. (Nasdaq: LONG) since 2005 and will continue to act as Chairman of eLong Board. Prior to joining Expedia, Kjellberg was with Spray, a leading Swedish Internet portal, and with Procter & Gamble.

In addition to these structural changes, the company announced the departure of Paul Brown and Dermot Halpin.

"Paul Brown has tirelessly served as the head of our Partner Services Group and provided great leadership for our Expedia North America business," said Khosrowshahi. "He will be a great addition to the management team of Hilton Hotels Corporation, as president of Global Brands and Shared Services."

Khosrowshahi continued: "As president of Expedia Europe, Dermot Halpin has built our EMEA business from $2 billion in gross bookings to more than $4.5 billion in gross bookings in 32 countries. Through Dermot's leadership, we have created real scale in EMEA that has enabled us to realign our organization along global brands. After year-end, Dermot will assume new business interest and board positions in organizations outside Expedia, Inc."

"We thank Paul and Dermot for their efforts and wish them continued success in their endeavors."

Brown will continue in the Partner Services Group role for a brief transition period, after which the function will report directly to Khosrowshahi while Expedia conducts an internal and external search for a new leader.

Expedia, Inc.'s other businesses, Trip Advisor, Egencia, Hotwire, and Classic Vacations will not be affected by these changes.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also provides in-destination concierge service and activity desks for travelers. The Expedia, Inc. portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com, hotels.com, Hotwire, Egencia (formerly Expedia Corporate Travel), TripAdvisor, Expedia Local Expert, Classic Vacations and eLong. Expedia, Inc.'s companies operate more than 60 global points of sale in more than 40 countries, with sites in North America, South America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia- Pacific. Expedia, Inc. is a component of the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ (NASDAQ: EXPE).

Expedia is a registered trademark of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. hotels.com is either a trademark or registered trademark of hotels.com, L.P., a subsidiary of hotels.com in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

(C) 2008 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-40

SOURCE Expedia, Inc.

http://www.expediainc.com