Virtual-Agent Services Continues to Expand Opening 18^th North American Location

SCHAUMBURG, IL (August 15, 2006) – Virtual-Agent Services, high quality customer care service provider, announced today that it has established its 18^th North American location. Established in the Village of Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada, the center will be added to the company’s other sites located in Illinois and New Brunswick. The company also operates a contact center in Milan, Italy. The new center in Stanley is expected to create up to 50 jobs for local area residents within the first-year of operation. The announcement was made jointly by VAS and officials from the provincial and local government.

“New Brunswick has enjoyed an extraordinary partnership with VAS, an internationally-award-winning operation,” New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord said. “We are proud to support this next step in its growth, and I know it will be welcomed warmly into Stanley.”

"VAS now employs more than 800 people across the province, and is an outstanding example of an innovative, committed corporate citizen,” Business New Brunswick Minister Kirk MacDonald said.  “It is one of many success stories in New Brunswick’s customer contact centre industry, which contributes in excess of $1 billion to our economy every year and employs more than 20,000 New Brunswickers.  We look forward to future partnerships with VAS, and the creation of more rural centres across New Brunswick.”

VAS’ unique operating model, the Distributed Workforce Concept, allows the company to network together a series of fully functional transaction centers using an advanced technical infrastructure provided by Aliant. This allows VAS unlimited capacity and reach to an abundant supply of high quality labor while still maintaining the economies of scale associated with having one large center. This capability allows VAS to bring work to skilled people in rural communities of the province without requiring them to travel long distances. Creating a wonderful opportunity for area residents, this assures VAS' clients that they are receiving superior service from a dedicated and enthusiastic workforce. In an industry where attrition rates average higher than 60%, VAS posts agent turnover rates of less than 15%.

“Stanley will be the fourth new location this year for VAS,” said Neri Basque, VAS Executive Vice President of IT and Strategic Development.  “VAS’ healthy growth creates a wonderful opportunity for local residents, and with their excellent service and dedication, we look forward to continued success.”

VAS currently provides inbound voice services to a number of high profile clients including CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas, Luxury Resorts, Admiral Insurance, Concorde Hotels, Roadside Protect, TravelCLICK, Passkey International, Morgans Hotel Group, Dolce International, and Luxe Worldwide Hotels.

About Virtual-Agent Services
Virtual-Agent Services (www.vagent.com), a privately held company headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, is a unique provider of contact center solutions for today's demanding customer care industry. VAS services a wide range of industries including logistics, banking, retail and catalog sales, travel and hospitality, insurance, and utility services. VAS provides a variety of support options that include inbound sales and customer service, customer account maintenance, credit management, and reservation services. VAS’ efforts have earned the company numerous accolades, including recognition from both Entrepreneur and Inc. magazines and a number of prestigious awards.