Guru.com Reports Double-Digit Growth for Fiscal Year 2005

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (February 16, 2006) - Guru.com, the
world's largest online marketplace for freelance talent,
announced a double-digit increase in the amount of total
revenues earned by Guru.com professionals during fiscal year
2005, ending 12/31/2005. Guru.com saw this metric increase
by 58% versus fiscal year 2004.

"Continued adoption of the Guru.com website to find, manage,
and pay contract professionals helped us complete another
year of strong growth in transaction volume. Introduction
of the escrow and dispute resolution services to enable
employers and professionals to conduct transactions with
complete security proved to be an important innovation for
us, sending customer satisfaction to higher levels," said
Inder Guglani, Guru.com's CEO and Founder.

The two most significant developments during the 2005 year
proved to be the introduction of escrow and dispute
resolution services and the growth of service buying by
non-US employers.

The SafePay Escrow and Dispute Resolution services were
launched in February of 2005 as a means of greatly reducing
transaction risks for both professionals and employers
registered with Guru.com. Employers now have the option of
placing project funds in a neutral escrow account at the
beginning of a project, where they are safely held until the
employer approves project work and releases payment to the
freelance professional. The SafePay Escrow system is
supported by Guru.com's Dispute Resolution Department, which
works to resolve conflict between employers and freelance
professionals.

The escrow process has worked very effectively, with only a
small percentage of cases (less than 5%) needing any form of
mediation and even a smaller percentage (less than 1%)
requiring the services of an arbitrator. Escrow payments
increased four-fold between March '05 and Dec '05 as a
growing number of employers and professionals embraced the
merits of the escrow and dispute resolution services.

The introduction of the escrow service along with
improvements to the transaction process resulted in strong
growth in service buying by non-US employers. Transaction
volume by non-US buyers more than doubled during 2005,
increasing 102% over fiscal year 2004.


About Guru.com
Guru.com (www.guru.com) is the world's largest online
marketplace for freelance talent. Created in August of 2000,
Guru.com's web-based marketplace directly connects
businesses with freelancers locally, nationally, or globally
who specialize in over 160 professional categories including
the following: website design, programming, graphic design,
business consulting, and administrative support. Employers
seeking professional expertise get quotes from professionals
on their contract work for free. Professionals seeking work
either register as a free (Basic) member or a subscribing
(Guru) member.


Press Contact:
Moira Koch
412.687.2228 *821
mkoch@guru.com