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License and Development Agreement - Ask Jeeves Inc. and Compaq Computer Corp.

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                       License and Development Agreement
                          between Ask Jeeves, Inc. and
                           Compaq Computer Corporation

This License and Development Agreement (the "Agreement") is made as of March 29,
1999 (the "Effective Date") by and between ASK JEEVES, INC., a California
corporation, with its principal place of business at 918 Parker Street,
Berkeley, CA 94710 ("Ask Jeeves") and COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION, a Delaware
corporation, with its principal place of business at 20555 SH 249, Houston TX
77070 ("Customer") on behalf of its worldwide divisions, affiliates and
subsidiaries.

                                    RECITALS

A.      Ask Jeeves is in the business of developing, marketing and licensing
        on-line natural language question answering products and services,
        including a software product known as the Question Processing Engine
        ("QPE"). The services Ask Jeeves provides include the creation and
        maintenance of customized knowledgebases to be used in conjunction with
        the QPE. The knowledgebases and the QPE when used together allow end
        users to access online information using the Ask Jeeves' question and
        answer format.

B.      Customer manufactures and sells personal computers and related products
        and services. Customer has created and maintains a website on the
        Internet related to Customer's computer products located at
        www.Compaq.com (the "Customer Site").

C.      Customer desires to license the QPE and have Ask Jeeves develop
        customized knowledgebases (the "Knowledgebases") that will allow
        visitors to the Customer Site to navigate portions of the Customer Site
        through the use of natural language questions.

D.      Ask Jeeves desires to license the QPE to Customer and develop and
        maintain the Knowledgebases on the terms set forth in this Agreement.

                                    AGREEMENT

        THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

1.      SCOPE OF WORK.

        a.     KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SERVICES. Ask Jeeves agrees to create the
               Knowledgebases as more specifically described in Exhibits Al, A2
               and A3 (and any further additions or amendments to Exhibit A)
               according to the schedules also set forth in Exhibit Al, A2 and
               A3.

        b.     KNOWLEDGEBASE MAINTENANCE AND UPDATE SERVICES. Ask Jeeves agrees
               to maintain and update the Knowledgebases as the content of the
               Customer Site changes, as specified in Exhibit B. The maintenance
               and updates will be done on an ongoing basis to promptly reflect
               changes in or additions to the Customer Site. Customer agrees to
               provide Ask Jeeves with a minimum of ten (10) days advance

<PAGE>   2

               notice of changes to the Customer Site to allow Ask Jeeves to
               update the Knowledgebases. Ask Jeeves' obligation to maintain and
               update each of the Knowledgebases is limited to the number of
               hours set forth in the Exhibit A that describes the scope of work
               for that Knowledgebase (the "Monthly Maintenance Obligations").
               In the event Customer requires maintenance and update services
               beyond the Monthly Maintenance Obligations, Ask Jeeves will
               provide those services at the rates set forth in Section 5.g.

        c.     QPE Support and Upgrades. Ask Jeeves agrees to provide Customer
               technical support as described in Exhibit E and bug fixes,
               upgrades and updates to the QPE, including major and minor
               releases, as such may be released from time to time. Ask Jeeves
               agrees to assign a designated Ask Jeeves employee to manage the
               technical support to be provided under this Agreement.

2.      TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS. The QPE and the Knowledgebases will operate in
        the software environment described in Exhibit C.

3.      OWNERSHIP OF KNOWLEDGEBASES; EXCLUSIVITY.

        a.     OWNERSHIP. The Knowledgebases will be the property of Ask Jeeves
               and will be licensed to Customer under the terms of the license
               set forth in Section 4, below. However, to the extent the
               Knowledgebases contain any proprietary or confidential
               information of Customer, such information will belong to Customer
               ("Customer Information"). Ask Jeeves will treat the Customer
               Information used in the Knowledgebases as Confidential
               Information of Customer, subject to the provisions of Section 16,
               below.

        b.     EXCLUSIVITY. Ask Jeeves agrees that for one hundred (100) days
               after the Effective Date it will not deliver to IBM,
               Hewlett-Packard, or Dell Computer Corporation, a production
               version of a question-answering system that is primarily designed
               to answer end-user pre-sale questions and that incorporates
               portions of Knowledgebase content that was first used for the
               Compaq "Prosignia II Pre-Sale" (Exhibit Al) system.

4.      LICENSE.

        a.     GRANT. Upon receipt of the fees set forth in Section 5, below,
               and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Ask
               Jeeves grants Customer a non-exclusive, fully-paid,
               nontransferable, non-sublicensable, worldwide license for the
               term of this Agreement (including any extensions) in the QPE, the
               Knowledgebases and any and all related materials, including,
               without limitation, documentation, trademarks, and logos (the
               "Licensed Products") solely for purposes set forth in this
               Agreement.

        b.     LICENSE RESTRICTIONS. Except as specifically granted in this
               Agreement, Ask Jeeves owns and retains all right, title and
               interest in the Licensed Products and any and all related
               materials. This Agreement does not transfer ownership rights



                                                                               2
<PAGE>   3

               of any description in the Licensed Products to Customer or any
               third party. Customer agrees not to modify, reverse engineer or
               decompile the Licensed Products or create derivative works based
               on them. Customer agrees to retain all copyright and trademark
               notices on the Licensed Products and to take other steps
               necessary to protect Ask Jeeves' intellectual property rights.

5.      FEES AND PAYMENT. As consideration for the licenses granted and the
        services rendered under this Agreement, Customer agrees to pay Ask
        Jeeves as follows:

        a.     PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FEE. Customer agrees to pay Ask Jeeves the
               following professional services fees for the creation of the
               Knowledgebases (the "Knowledgebase Creation Fees"):


<TABLE>
<S>                                                                      <C>
               Prosignia II Pre-sales (Exhibit Al)                       $ 91,000.00

               Home Computing PC Tech Support (Exhibit A2)               $185,000.00

               Enterprise PC Tech Support (excl. Servers) (Exhibit A3)   $102,000.00
</TABLE>

               The Knowledgebase Creation Fees will be invoiced fifty percent
               (50%) upon execution of this Agreement and the remaining fifty
               percent (50%) on the Release Date for each of the Knowledgebases.
               For purposes of this Agreement the "Release Date" is defined as
               the date on which Ask Jeeves delivers a production ready copy of
               each Knowledgebase to Customer.

        b.     KNOWLEDGEBASE MAINTENANCE FEE. Customer agrees to pay Ask Jeeves
               for maintenance of the Knowledgebases (the "Knowledgebase
               Maintenance Fees") as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
               Project                                                        Monthly Fee
<S>                                                                           <C>
               Home Computing PC Tech Support                                 $ 4,000.00

               Enterprise PC Tech Support (excluding.  Servers)               $ 3,200.00

               Prosignia II Pre-Sale (deferred, see below)                    $ 2,300.00
</TABLE>


               The Knowledgebase Maintenance Fee for each of the Knowledgebases
               will be invoiced in advance on a quarterly basis beginning on the
               Release Date for each of the Knowledgebases. If the Release Date
               for each Knowledgebase is a day other than the beginning of a
               quarter, the Maintenance Fee will be prorated for the percentage
               of the quarter remaining. The Knowledgebase Maintenance Fee for
               the Prosignia II Pre-Sale Knowledgebase will be deferred for a
               period of ninety (90) days after its Release Date pending the
               conclusion of negotiations between



                                                                               3
<PAGE>   4

               Ask Jeeves and Customer for additional Prosignia II Pre-Sale
               Knowledgebase development. In the event the parties do not reach
               an agreement concerning future development of the Prosignia II
               Pre-Sale Knowledgebase within ninety (90) days of its Release
               Date, Customer agrees to pay Ask Jeeves the amount shown above.

        c.     USAGE FEE. Customer agrees to pay Ask Jeeves a minimum yearly
               usage fee (the "Minimum Yearly Usage Fee") of five hundred
               thousand dollars ($500,000). The Minimum Yearly Usage Fee
               includes up to 10 million Answers, as defined below. Each Answer
               provided in excess of 10 million during any year will be billed
               at $0.04 per answer (the "Excess Answer Fee"), provided, however,
               that the total usage fee to be paid by Customer to Ask Jeeves
               during the Initial Term will not exceed six hundred and fifty
               thousand dollars ($650,000) (the "Maximum Yearly Usage Fee").
               Customer will not receive any refund of the Yearly Usage Fee if
               fewer than 10 million Answers are provided. An "Answer" occurs
               when (a) an end user of the Licensed Products selects a matching
               question presented to the user in response to a user's query or
               (b) an alternative mechanism by which an end user is taken to an
               answer to his or her query on the Customer Site. The Yearly Usage
               Fees will be paid quarterly in advance. The Excess Answer Fee, if
               any, will be billed quarterly in arrears, beginning on the date
               that Customer provides in excess of 10 million Answers to users
               of the Customer Site.

        d.     TRAVEL AND OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES. Customer agrees to reimburse
               Ask Jeeves for all travel expenses and out of pocket expenses at
               cost, which will not exceed Compaq's Standard Travel Guidelines
               attached as Exhibit D to this Agreement.

        e.     PAYMENT. For all invoices hereunder, payment is due forty-five
               (45) days from invoice date.

        f.     TAXES. Customer will also reimburse Ask Jeeves for any sales, use
               and similar taxes associated with the Software, except for taxes
               based on Ask Jeeves' net assets or net income. Customer reserves
               the right to promptly pay all taxes due directly to the
               applicable taxing authorities under Customer's Direct Pay Tax
               Permit.

        g.     PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. In the event Customer requests that Ask
               Jeeves perform consulting, engineering, Knowledgebase creation or
               other professional services that are beyond the scope of work
               described in this Agreement, Customer agrees to pay Ask Jeeves
               for such professional services in accordance with the applicable
               scope-of-work at Ask Jeeves' customary rates, which, as of the
               date of this Agreement, are as follows:

<TABLE>
<S>                                                         <C>
               Engineering:                                 $120.00/hour
               Knowledgebase Creation                       $ 75.00/hour
               Consulting                                   $ 90.00/hour
</TABLE>



                                                                               4
<PAGE>   5

               Ask Jeeves agrees that for the term of this Agreement (including
               any extensions) the maximum professional services fees it will
               charge will be the lesser of (i) the actual rates for such
               services charged by Ask Jeeves to its customers or (ii) the
               amounts set forth above plus twenty percent (20%) per year.

6.      AUDIT RIGHTS. Each party agrees that it will keep, for a minimum of two
        (2) years, proper records and books of account relating to its
        activities under this Agreement. Once every twelve (12) months, either
        party may inspect the records of the other party to verify reports
        provided to the other, each party's compliance with its obligations
        under this Agreement and/or payment amounts. Any such inspection will be
        conducted in a manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the
        inspected party's business activities. Such inspection shall be
        performed by an independent accounting firm chosen and compensated by
        the requesting party, for purposes of audit. Such accounting firm shall
        be required to sign an agreement protecting the party's confidential
        information and shall be authorized to report only the amounts due and
        payable for the period requested. The inspected party shall immediately
        make any overdue payments disclosed by the audit. Such inspection shall
        be at the inspecting party's expense; however, if the audit reveals
        overdue payments in excess of 10% of the payments owed to date, the
        inspected party shall immediately pay the cost of such audit, and the
        inspecting party may conduct another audit during the same twelve (12)
        month period. Each party shall, upon written request, during normal
        business hours, in accordance with Customer's standard security
        requirements, but not more frequently than once each calendar year,
        provide access to such accounting records.

7.      CUSTOMER LIAISON. Customer agrees to provide a designated employee to
        act as liaison with Ask Jeeves for the installation, and technical
        implementation and support of the QPE and the Knowledgebases. With
        respect to the maintenance of the Knowledgebases, Customer, at its
        option, may assign an individual liaison for each Customer product
        group. Customer further agrees to comply with Ask Jeeves' reasonable
        requests to modify the Customer Site (e.g. adding location tags to
        answer content) in order to maximize the efficacy of the Knowledgebases.

8.      ASK JEEVES ANSWER NETWORK. Upon future, separate mutual agreement of the
        parties, the Knowledgebases may be included in the Ask Jeeves Answer
        Network, allowing users at another website access to the publicly
        available, non-confidential portions of the Knowledgebases and
        vice-versa.

9.      TERM AND TERMINATION.

        a.     TERM. This Agreement and the licenses granted under this
               Agreement become effective as of the Effective Date and, unless
               sooner terminated as set forth in Section 9.b, below, shall
               continue in effect for a period of twelve (12) months from the
               Release Date (the "Initial Term"). Upon expiration of the Initial
               Term, this Agreement will automatically renew for additional
               twelve-month terms (the "Renewal Terms") on the terms and
               conditions set forth in this Agreement or such other terms and
               conditions as the parties may agree to in writing. Ask Jeeves
               agrees to notify Customer in writing not less than sixty (60)
               days prior to



                                                                               5
<PAGE>   6

               expiration of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term of the
               termination date for that term (the "Expiration Notice"). In the
               event that Ask Jeeves fails to provide Customer the Expiration
               Notice, this Agreement will terminate upon the expiration of the
               term to which it applies.

        b.     TERMINATION. Either party, as applicable, has the right, in
               addition and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies,
               to terminate this Agreement as follows:

               (1)    By either party for convenience upon thirty (30) days
                      written notice to the other party, given not more than
                      thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the Initial
                      Term or not more than thirty (30) days prior to the
                      expiration of any quarter during a Renewal Term.

               (2)    By Ask Jeeves, upon thirty (30) days written notice, if
                      Customer fails to pay the amounts due to Ask Jeeves
                      pursuant to this Agreement;

               (3)    By either party for any material breach of this Agreement,
                      other than the failure to make payments under Section 5,
                      that is not cured within thirty (30) days of receipt by
                      the party in default of a written notice specifying the
                      breach and requiring its cure;

               (4)    By either party, immediately upon receiving written
                      notice, if (a) all or a substantial portion of the assets
                      of the other party are transferred to an assignee for the
                      benefit of creditors, or to a receiver or a trustee in
                      bankruptcy, (b) a proceeding is commenced by or against
                      the other party for relief under bankruptcy or similar
                      laws and such proceeding is not dismissed within sixty
                      (60) days, or (c) the other party is adjudged bankrupt.

        c.     RIGHTS ON TERMINATION. On termination, (a) all licenses granted
               to Customer under this Agreement cease and Customer agrees to
               promptly cease all use and reproduction of the Licensed Products;
               and (b) Customer will promptly return all copies the Licensed
               Products to Ask Jeeves or destroy all copies in its possession.
               Ask Jeeves has and reserves all rights and remedies that it has
               by operation of law or otherwise to enjoin the unlawful or
               unauthorized use of the Licensed Products as long as Ask Jeeves
               can meet the legal requirements therefor. Customer reserves the
               right to terminate Maintenance and Support Services without
               terminating the right to continue use of the licenses granted in
               the state at the time of termination.

        d.     SURVIVAL FOLLOWING TERMINATION. 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
               15, 16 and 18 will survive termination or expiration of this
               Agreement. In addition, provisions of the Agreement which, by
               their nature, are intended to survive its termination or
               expiration, shall survive its termination or expiration.

10.     INFRINGEMENT INDEMNITY BY ASK JEEVES. Ask Jeeves indemnifies, defends
        and holds Customer harmless from and against any claims, actions or
        demands alleging that all or



                                                                               6
<PAGE>   7

        any of the Licensed Products infringe any patent, copyright, trademark,
        or other intellectual property right of a third party. If use of any or
        all of the Licensed Products is permanently enjoined for any reason, Ask
        Jeeves, at Ask Jeeves' option, and in its sole discretion, may (a)
        modify the Licensed Products so as to avoid infringement without the
        loss of functionality; (b) procure the right for Customer to continue to
        use the Licensed Products; or (c) terminate this Agreement and refund to
        Customer all fees paid. Ask Jeeves shall have no obligation under this
        Section 10 for or with respect to claims, actions or demands alleging
        infringement that arise as a result of (a) the combination of
        noninfringing items supplied by Ask Jeeves with any items not supplied
        by Ask Jeeves, unless prior approved by Ask Jeeves, (b) modification of
        the Licensed Products by Customer, unless prior approved by Ask Jeeves,
        or (c) continued allegedly infringing activity by Customer after
        Customer has been notified of possible infringement, unless approved in
        advance by Ask Jeeves.

11.     CUSTOMER DISCLAIMER AND INDEMNITY AS TO CONTENT. Ask Jeeves assumes no
        responsibility for the content of the Customer Site, and Customer agrees
        to indemnify, defend and hold Ask Jeeves harmless from and against any
        claims, actions or demands alleging that Ask Jeeves has any liability to
        any third party arising from the third party's use of the Customer Site.

12.     WARRANTIES.

        a.     PRODUCT WARRANTY. Ask Jeeves warrants that (a) it holds the
               necessary rights to provide the services set forth in this
               Agreement; (b) the media containing the Licensed Products will be
               free from defects for a period of thirty (30) days from the date
               of delivery to Customer, provided that this warranty does not
               cover defects due to Customer's misuse of the media; (c) Ask
               Jeeves is free of any obligation that would prevent it from
               entering into this Agreement, and (d) the Licensed Products will
               perform substantially in accordance with Ask Jeeves published
               documentation.

        b.     YEAR 2000 WARRANTY. Ask Jeeves warrants, at no additional cost to
               Customer and until March 31, 2001, the following under this
               Agreement:

                      (i)    That the Licensed Products will accurately process,
                             calculate, compare and sequence date and time data
                             from, into and between the twentieth and
                             twenty-first centuries, including leap year
                             calculations, when used in accordance with Ask
                             Jeeves supplied documentation. As used herein, the
                             term accurately shall mean in accordance with
                             industry standard conventions with respect to the
                             environment in which the Licensed Products are
                             operating;

                      (ii)   That the Licensed Products will accurately handle
                             dates utilizing the International Standards
                             Organization (ISO) 8601 standard formats, including
                             YYYY-MM-DD; and



                                                                               7
<PAGE>   8

                      (iii)  That any licensing keys contained in the Licensed
                             Products will not expire or cause the Licensed
                             Products to perform at less than full function due
                             to the Software not performing as set out herein.

                      Customer's sole and exclusive remedy for Ask Jeeves'
                      breach of this warranty shall be either repair or
                      replacement of the non-compliant Licensed Product(s). Ask
                      Jeeves agrees to use all reasonable commercial efforts to
                      complete such repair or replacement within sixty (60) days
                      of receiving written notice from Customer of the
                      non-compliant Licensed Product(s). This warranty shall not
                      be construed to limit any rights or remedies that Customer
                      may otherwise have under this Agreement with respect to
                      defects other than Year 2000 performance.

13.     DISCLAIMER. THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH IN SECTION 12, ABOVE, ARE IN LIEU
        OF, AND THIS AGREEMENT EXPRESSLY EXCLUDES, ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS
        OR IMPLIED, ORAL OR WRITTEN, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, (a) ANY
        WARRANTY THAT THE LICENSED PRODUCTS ARE ERROR-FREE OR COMPATIBLE WITH
        ALL EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE CONFIGURATIONS (b) ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF
        MERCHANTABILITY; AND (c) ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A
        PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

14.     LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. EXCEPT AS TO ITS INDEMNITY OBLIGATIONS UNDER
        SECTION 10, ABOVE, ASK JEEVES IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
        INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING THE LOSS OF
        PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR USE OR COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE
        GOODS INCURRED BY CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN
        CONTRACT OR TORT OR BASED ON A WARRANTY, EVEN IF ASK JEEVES OR ANY OTHER
        PERSON HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ASK JEEVES'
        LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT SHALL NOT UNDER ANY
        CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNTS ACTUALLY PAID BY
        CUSTOMER TO ASK JEEVES OR ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000.00) (NET OF
        TRAVEL AND OUT OF POCKET COSTS) UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.

15.     EXPORT CONTROLS. Customer agrees to comply with and be responsible for
        understanding any and all export regulations and rules now in effect or
        that may be issued from time to time by the Office of Export
        Administration of the United States Department of Commerce or any other
        governmental authority that has jurisdiction relating to export laws.
        Customer agrees to comply fully and strictly with the export controls
        and laws of any country in which it does, or intends to do, business.
        Ask Jeeves agrees to provide Customer with sufficient technical
        information concerning the Licensed Products so that Customer may make
        application for a U. S. export license and Ask Jeeves agrees to assign
        any existing Ask Jeeves obtained export license for Customer's use in
        exporting the Licensed Products.



                                                                               8
<PAGE>   9

16.     CONFIDENTIALITY. All disclosures of proprietary and confidential
        information in connection with this Agreement or the transaction
        contemplated by this Agreement are governed by the terms of the
        Corporate Non Disclosure Agreement previously executed by the parties, a
        copy of which is attached as Exhibit F to this Agreement.

17.     PUBLICITY.

        a.     PRESS RELEASES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ask Jeeves and Customer agree
               that upon the execution of this Agreement, Customer and Ask
               Jeeves will issue a joint press release, with text mutually
               agreed to by the parties. Thereafter, neither party shall use the
               name(s), trademark(s), tradename(s) or logo(s), whether or not
               registered, of the other party in publicity releases without
               securing the prior written approval of the other party; provided,
               however, that (i) Ask Jeeves may use Customer's name in its
               customer list; and (ii) each party may use specific information
               previously approved for public release by the other, without
               further approval. Each party agrees not to disclose to any third
               party the terms of this Agreement.

        b.     OTHER PUBLICITY. Beginning on the Release Date, Customer agrees
               to (a) mention Ask Jeeves in directly related press releases; (b)
               consider including mentions of Ask Jeeves in relevant promotions
               and advertisements and, if requested to do so by Ask Jeeves, not
               to unreasonably withhold consent; and (c) prominently display the
               "Powered by Ask Jeeves" logo on the question confirmation page,
               with a link from such logo to the corporate systems information
               page on the Ask Jeeves website.

18.     GENERAL PROVISIONS.

        a.     ASSIGNMENT. Neither party may assign, sublicense or transfer its
               rights or delegate its obligation under this Agreement without
               the other party's prior written consent, which will not be
               unreasonably withheld. This Agreement is binding on the
               successors and assigns of the parties to the Agreement.

        b.     WAIVER AND SEVERABILITY. The failure of either party to enforce
               any provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of
               that provision or of the right of the party to thereafter enforce
               that or any other provision. In case any provision of this
               Agreement is held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, the
               provision will be severed from this Agreement and such
               invalidity, unenforceability or illegality will not affect any
               other provision of the Agreement.

        c.     RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES. Ask Jeeves' relationship to Customer
               is that of an independent contractor. Nothing in this Agreement
               shall be deemed to create an employer/employee, principal/agent
               or joint venture relationship. Neither party shall have the
               authority to enter into any contract on behalf of the other party
               without that party's express written consent.

        d.     GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed and construed in
               accordance with the laws of the State of New York.



                                                                               9
<PAGE>   10

        e.     ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement, along with the exhibits
               attached and referenced in this Agreement, constitutes the final
               and complete understanding between the parties and replaces and
               supercedes all previous oral or written agreements,
               understandings or arrangements between the parties with respect
               to the subject matter of this Agreement. This Agreement may not
               be amended or modified except in a writing duly executed by both
               parties.

        f.     EXHIBITS. The following exhibits are attached to the Agreement
               and incorporated by reference:

<TABLE>
<S>                                <C>
               Exhibit A           Knowledgebase Creation Services
               Exhibit B           Knowledgebase Maintenance and Update Services
               Exhibit C           Required Software Environment
               Exhibit D           Compaq Standard Travel Guidelines
               Exhibit E           Technical Support Guidelines
               Exhibit F           Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement
</TABLE>

        g.     NOTICES. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, notices
               required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be
               effective when received and shall be sufficient if given in
               writing and (a) hand-delivered, (b) sent by facsimile with
               confirmation of receipt, (c) sent by First Class Mail, return
               receipt requested and postage pre-paid, or (d) sent by overnight
               courier service and addressed as follows:

                To Ask Jeeves:        Ask Jeeves, Inc.
                                      918 Parker Street
                                      Berkeley, CA 94710
                                      Attn: General Counsel
                                      Telephone: (510) 649-8685
                                      Fax: (510) 649-8633

                To Customer:          Compaq Computer Corporation
                                      20555 S.H. 249
                                      Houston, TX 77070
                                      Attn: Legal Dept.  110701
                                      and
                                      Compaq Computer Corporation
                                      20555 S.H. 249 MC060308
                                      Houston, TX 77070
                                      Attn: Cora Nell Worthy-Blumberg
                                      Sr.  Commodity Manager,
                                      Corp.  Software Procurement
                                      Ph: 281-514-0961



                                                                              10
<PAGE>   11

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, ASK JEEVES, INC. and COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION
have duly executed this Agreement as of the Effective Date.

ASK JEEVES, INC.                        COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION


By:   /s/  R. W. Wrubel                 By:   /s/  Kenny Kurtzman
   --------------------------------        -------------------------------------
       Robert W Wrubel, President

                                        Printed/Typed Name:   Kenny Kurtzman
                                                           ---------------------

Title:  President                       Title:  V.P. and General Manager Compaq
      -----------------------------            ---------------------------------



                                                                              11
<PAGE>   12

                                   EXHIBIT A1

             KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SERVICE FOR PROSIGNIA PRE-SALES

Ask Jeeves will create and deliver a Knowledgebase ("KB") that is mapped to
certain sections of the Customer Site. These sections are defined below as the
"Project Content".

PROJECT CONTENT
INCLUDED SECTIONS
The following sections of the Customer Site are included in the Project Content:

<TABLE>
<S>                                    <C>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION NAME                           www.compaq.com/smb/onlineservices
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.compaq.com/smb/desktops            www.directplus.compaq.com/(for these sections)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.compaq.com/smb/notebooks           Additional FAQ style content created for Prosignia
                                       questions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.compaq.com/smb/servers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

EXCLUDED SECTIONS
Anything off-site and the following sections of the Customer Site are
specifically excluded from the Project Content:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section Name
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For sections listed above, no PDF files unless they were turned into HTML pages
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


STYLE GUIDELINES
Ask Jeeves will use its best efforts to follow the Customer's style guidelines.

CUSTOMER EXTRANET
Ask Jeeves will set up and maintain a password-protected Extranet to enable
Customer to view the project schedule, contact information, and overall
performance metrics, and generally to facilitate communication between Ask
Jeeves and Customer. Ask Jeeves will normally update the Extranet, when
required, on a weekly basis.

                         KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SCHEDULE

It is expected that the Knowledgebase ("KB") creation and implementation
activities will be conducted according to the schedule below. This schedule may
be changed jointly by Ask Jeeves and Customer. Ask Jeeves will post the most
up-to-date version of the schedule to the Customer Extranet.

PRE-PRODUCTION: One week
Week 1: February 23 -March 1

-   Project intake
-   Team assignment
-   Content strategy set
-   Style guide developed



                                                                              12
<PAGE>   13

-   Extranet created

CONTENT PRODUCTION AND UNIT TESTING: 3 weeks
Weeks 1 - 3: Feb. 23 - March 12

-   Editors develop questions, working closely with Don Skarzenski and Kathy
    Berry

-   Testing reports back to editors on unit performance; content adjusted in
    response

-   QA gives green light for Alpha


ALPHA TESTING: Two weeks
Weeks 2 - 4: March 1 - March 12

-   KB tested in its entirety
-   QA reports on performance
-   Content adjustments made/issues tracked
-   Engineering adjustments made/issues tracked
-   QA gives green light for Beta


BETA TESTING: Two weeks
Weeks 4 - 6: March 15 - March 26

-   KB installed on Customer's designated Web site
-   Submission of bugs & issues via Extranet
-   Content adjustments made/issues tracked
-   Reporting of issues & fixes via Extranet
-   Final adjustments of KB and User Interface
-   Final reports on issues/fixes
-   Final report on KB performance from QA
-   Metrics from beta made available via Extranet

RELEASE:
March 29

-   KB delivered to Customer and available for public release

                         MONTHLY MAINTENANCE OBLIGATION

        Ask Jeeves will have no obligation to maintain the Prosignia II Pre-Sale
Knowledgebase for the first ninety (90) days after its Release Date. Thereafter,
in the event Ask Jeeves and Customer do not reach agreement concerning further
development of this Knowledgebase, Ask Jeeves' obligation to maintain the
Prosignia II Pre-Sale Knowledgebase will be limited to fifty-seven and one-half
(57.5) person hours per month.



                                                                              13
<PAGE>   14

                                   EXHIBIT A2

                KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SERVICE FOR HOME COMPUTING

Ask Jeeves will create and deliver a Knowledgebase ("KB") that is mapped to
certain sections of the Customer Site. These sections are defined below as the
"Project Content".

PROJECT CONTENT
INCLUDED SECTIONS
The following sections of the Customer Site are included in the Project Content:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION NAME
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
compaq.com/athome/support/serv_desk
                          serv_note
                          serv_print
                          serv_pcthe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXCLUDED SECTIONS
Anything off-site and the following sections of the Customer Site are
specifically excluded from the Project Content:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION NAME
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the above sections, no PDF files
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STYLE GUIDELINES
Ask Jeeves will use its best efforts to follow the Customer's style guidelines,

CUSTOMER EXTRANET
Ask Jeeves will set up and maintain a password-protected Extranet to enable
Customer to view the project schedule, contact information, and overall
performance metrics, and generally to facilitate communication between Ask
Jeeves and Customer. Ask Jeeves will normally update the Extranet, when
required, on a weekly basis.

                         KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SCHEDULE

It is expected that the Knowledgebase ("KB") creation and implementation
activities will be conducted according to the schedule below. This schedule may
be changed jointly by Ask Jeeves and Customer. Ask Jeeves will post the most
up-to-date version of the schedule to the Customer Extranet.

PRE-PRODUCTION: 6 weeks (Completed)
Weeks 1-6: Jan. 4 - Feb. 12

-   Team assignment
-   Content strategy set, including development of extensive Core Vocabulary and
    Question Architecture
-   Style guide developed
-   Extranet created



                                                                              14
<PAGE>   15

CONTENT PRODUCTION AND UNIT TESTING: 7 weeks
Weeks 7 - 8: Feb. 14 - Feb. 23
Weeks 9 - 13:

-   Editors develop questions
-   Testing reports back to editors on unit performance; content adjusted in
    response
-   QA gives green light for Alpha

ALPHA TESTING: 4 weeks
Weeks 14 - 17: ____________ - ______________

-   KB tested in its entirety
-   QA reports on performance
-   Content adjustments made/issues tracked
-   Engineering adjustments made/issues tracked
-   QA gives green light for Beta

BETA TESTING: 3 weeks
Weeks 18 - 21: ____________ - ______________

-   KB installed on Customer's designated Web site
-   Submission of bugs & issues via Extranet
-   Content adjustments made/issues tracked
-   Reporting of issues & fixes via Extranet
-   Final adjustments of KB and User Interface
-   Final reports on issues/fixes
-   Final report on KB performance from QA
-   Metrics from beta made available via Extranet

RELEASE:
Beginning of Week 21: ____________ - ______________

-   KB delivered to Customer and available for public release

                         MONTHLY MAINTENANCE OBLIGATION

        Ask Jeeves obligation to maintain the Home Computing Knowledgebase is
limited to one hundred (100) person hours per month.



                                                                              15
<PAGE>   16

                                   EXHIBIT A3

       KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SERVICE FOR ENTERPRISE PC TECHNICAL SUPPORT
                               (EXCLUDING SERVERS)

Ask Jeeves will create and deliver a Knowledgebase ("KB") that is mapped to
certain sections of the Customer Site. These sections are defined below as the
"Project Content".

PROJECT CONTENT
INCLUDED SECTIONS
The following sections of the Customer Site are included in the Project Content:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION NAME
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
compaq.corn/support/desktops
                   /portables
                   /workstations
                  /options
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


EXCLUDED SECTIONS
Anything off-site and the following sections of the Customer Site are
specifically excluded from the Project Content:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION NAME
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For above sections, no PDF files
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


STYLE GUIDELINES
Ask Jeeves will use its best efforts to follow the Customer's style guidelines.

CUSTOMER EXTRANET
Ask Jeeves will set up and maintain a password-protected Extranet to enable
Customer to view the project schedule, contact information, and overall
performance metrics, and generally to facilitate communication between Ask
Jeeves and Customer. Ask Jeeves will normally update the Extranet, when
required, on a weekly basis.

                         KNOWLEDGEBASE CREATION SCHEDULE

It is expected that the Knowledgebase ("KB") creation and implementation
activities will be conducted according to the schedule below. This schedule may
be changed jointly by Ask Jeeves and Customer. Ask Jeeves will post the most
up-to-date version of the schedule to the Customer Extranet.

PRE-PRODUCTION: 6 weeks (Completed)
Weeks 1-6: Jan. 4- Feb. 12

-   Team assignment
-   Project intake


                                                                              16
<PAGE>   17

-   Team assignment
-   Content strategy set, including development of extensive Core Vocabulary and
    Question Architecture
-   Style guide developed
-   Extranet created

CONTENT PRODUCTION AND UNIT TESTING: 7 weeks
Weeks 7- 8: Feb.  14- Feb.  23
Weeks 9 - 13:
-   Editors develop questions
-   Testing reports back to editors on unit performance; content adjusted in
    response
-   QA gives green light for Alpha

ALPHA TESTING: 4 weeks
Weeks 14- 17: ____________ - ______________
-   KB tested in its entirety
-   QA reports on performance
-   Content adjustments made/issues tracked
-   Engineering adjustments made/issues tracked
-   QA gives green light for Beta

BETA TESTING: 3 weeks
Weeks 18 - 21: ____________ - ______________
-   KB installed on Customer's designated Web site
-   Submission of bugs & issues via Extranet
-   Content adjustments made/issues tracked
-   Reporting of issues & fixes via Extranet
-   Final adjustments of KB and User Interface
-   Final reports on issues/fixes
-   Final report on KB performance from QA
-   Metrics from beta made available via Extranet

RELEASE:
Beginning of Week 21: ____________ - ______________

-   KB delivered to Customer and available for public release

                         MONTHLY MAINTENANCE OBLIGATION

Ask Jeeves obligation to maintain the Enterprise PC Technical Support
Knowledgebase is limited to eighty (80) person hours per month.



                                                                              17
<PAGE>   18

                                    EXHIBIT B

                  KNOWLEDGEBASE MAINTENANCE AND UPDATE SERVICES

                    Notification of Site Changes; KB Updates

-   As the contents of the Customer Site are changed, Customer will notify Ask
    Jeeves of modifications to the Project Content.
-   Ask Jeeves will promptly update the Knowledgebase ("KB") to reflect changes
    in or additions to the Customer Site and Project Content. In addition, Ask
    Jeeves will maintain and update the KB on an ongoing and regular basis to
    improve performance of the KB.
-   Ask Jeeves will use its best efforts to update the KB within 10 business
    days of receipt of the modification notice. Substantial or numerous
    modifications may require more than 10 business days for implementation.


                               KB UPDATE SCHEDULE

Ask Jeeves will release updates to the KB on a weekly basis and post them to an
Ask Jeeves FTP server for retrieval by Customer. Customer is responsible for
retrieving and installing the KB updates.

                          LOG FILES; DATA AND REPORTING

-   Ask Jeeves will provide Customer access to a Web site ("the Extranet")
    containing tools for analyzing end user questions and evaluating the
    completeness of the KB. Up to three representatives of Customer may
    simultaneously access the Extranet. Access for additional representatives
    may be available for a fee.

-   Customer will send Ask Jeeves all log files generated by the QPE, on a
    weekly or otherwise mutually scheduled basis, formatted according to Ask
    Jeeves specifications, and in a manner reasonably specified by Ask Jeeves
    ("User Logs").

-   Within twenty-four hours of receiving the User Logs, Ask Jeeves will update
    the Extranet with the information from the User Logs, for the purpose of
    enabling Customer and Ask Jeeves to view the reports described hereunder.
    Ask Jeeves may from time to time modify the number, format or content of
    these reports, in order to provide more useful data and insights into the
    operation of the KB.

1.  OVERALL STATISTICS: lists some aggregate statistics about site usage.

        a)     Total Questions Asked

        b)     Total Picks

        c)     Match Percent (percentage of questions which had one or more
               matches)

        d)     Pick Percent

2.  USER QUERIES - NO MATCH: lists the user queries that did not have a question
    match. This report lists the queries that couldn't be answered by the KB. By
    listing users' queries by frequency, this report helps identify subject
    areas where the KB could be more complete.

3.  USER QUERIES - NO PICK: lists the user queries that had a match, but where
    the user picked no matches. This report helps better understand users'
    questions and identify topics where the KB could be more complete.



                                                                              18
<PAGE>   19

4.  MOST POPULAR PICKS: Of the questions matched, view those that are most often
    picked by the users. This report helps identify the topics of greatest
    interest to the users.

5.  MOST POPULAR WORDS: View the most frequently used words in users' questions.
    This report is helpful for fine-tuning the KB to better match users'
    questions. It is also useful for identifying emerging areas of user
    interest.

6.  USER QUERIES CONTAINING A PARTICULAR WORD: This report allows a sampling of
    user interest in definable topic areas, as expressed through the user
    queries.

7.  PICKS CONTAINING A PARTICULAR WORD: This report is helpful for evaluating
    user interest in specific topics.

-   Ask Jeeves will, when necessary, post or update on the Extranet a "Content
    Holes" report. This report is prepared as a result of further analyzing the
    log files and reports listed above, and will serve to indicate to the
    Customer possible topics or subject areas for which user queries are
    received, but for which there are no answers in the Project Content.



                                                                              19
<PAGE>   20

                                    EXHIBIT C

                          Required Software Environment

The Ask Jeeves software requires the following software environment:

        a.     Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system, with Service Pack 4
               installed

        b.     Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0

Ask Jeeves is compiled to run on Intel Pentium II CPUs, and has been deployed on
both single and dual processor systems. Minimum system requirements are:

        c.     400MHz (or higher) Intel Pentium II processor (dual processors
               recommended)

        d.     512 MBRAM

        e.     9 GB Hard Disk

        f.     Fast Ethernet Hardware (100 Mbps)

The Ask Jeeves software is comprised of several dynamic link library (DLL)
files, some HTML files, and several Active Server Page (ASP) files. The ASP
files are a mixture of HTML and Visual Basic Script (VBScript) language
routines. The DLLs encapsulate the Ask Jeeves linguistic and matching
algorithms, while the ASP files embody the user interface.



                                                                              20
<PAGE>   21

                                    EXHIBIT D
                                ASK JEEVES-COMPAQ
                          COMPAQ TRAVEL GUIDELINES FOR
                           CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS
                                  4/98 revision

This document describes guidelines to be used by Ask Jeeves (`Contractors and
Consultants") who are providing a service to Compaq when travel expenses are
reimbursable. Travel expenses require prior approval of Compaq Computer Company
("Compaq"). Approved expenses shall be detailed separately on invoicing.

COMPAQ TRAVEL SERVICES
Compaq Travel Services (CTS) has been established by Compaq to help reduce
overall travel costs. Contract rates with travel suppliers are maintained via
our on-site agency. CTS should be used by Contractors and Consultants whenever
possible, unless Contractor/Consultant rates are lower. All airline reservations
should be made via CTS using Compaq's preferred carriers. CTS is also available
to assist with car rentals and hotel reservations. Reservations may be made with
CTS during regular business hours (7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday -
Friday) by calling 281-518-7770.

AIR TRAVEL
Compaq has agreement in place with various airlines for travel within the United
States and around the world.

Coach Class is the appropriate choice for a domestic travel. Business Class is
appropriate only for international travel, recognizing that Coach Class may be
necessary if Business is unavailable. CTS will provide the most economical means
of booking.

Consistent with reasonable planning, air travel should generally be booked at
the lowest available rate within the required time constraints. The use of
restricted fares (non-refundable tickets) can result in substantial savings and
is encouraged if travelers are certain of their schedules.

The cost of upgrading beyond the Guidelines stated above is not considered a
reimbursable expense.

LODGING
Compaq has select agreements in place with hotel properties throughout the
United States and around the world. A single room with private bath in a
business class hotel or motel should be requested.

It is recommended that Contractor or Consultant calls CTS for reservations in
order to secure Compaq rates. If not possible, request Compaq Contractor rates.

Should an extended stay be required at any location, long-term, apartment-style
lodging should be investigated.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION, GASOLINE, PARKING AND TOLLS
Fuel expenses, parking and tolls are reimbursable. An original receipt is
required for reimbursement of expenses of $15.00 or more.

Compaq has a worldwide agreement in place for car rental requirements. Rental
cars are to be returned with a full tank of gasoline.

CTS can provide information pertaining to alternate ground transportation
requirements, such as taxis or limousines.



MEALS
Because the cost of meals varies widely according to location and environment,
there are no guidelines on dollars per meal or dollars per day. However,
Contractor/Consultant personnel are expected to exercise prudence. Original
receipts must be submitted with the Expense Statement for meals costing $15.00
or more.



                                                                              21
<PAGE>   22

TELEPHONE CALLS
While traveling, business calls specifically relevant to the scope of Compaq
business are reimbursable. For extended stay, one (1) personal call per day
domestically or three (3) personal calls per week for international travel is
considered reasonable and shall be reimbursable.

NON-REIMBURSABLE EXPENDITURES
The following miscellaneous items are expenses that will not be considered for
reimbursement:

-   Travel expenses for spouse or companion
-   Personal portion of trip when combined with Compaq business
-   Non-Compaq business portion of trip when combined with Compaq business
-   Personal grooming items
-   Flight insurance
-   Airline or rental club dues
-   In-room hotel movies
-   Personal (or other non-Compaq) mail or packages
-   Items for personal use
-   Over weight luggage fees
-   Drugs (prescription or over-the-counter)
-   Sundries such as candy, gum, tobacco
-   Newspapers of magazines
-   Haircuts, shoe shines
-   Spa, gym or golf fees
-   Entertainment (movies, theater tickets, sporting events)
-   Gifts
-   In-flight movies



                                                                              22
<PAGE>   23

                                   EXHIBIT E

                          Technical Support Guidelines

1.      Definitions.

        (a)    Hours of Operation. Ask Jeeves will provide Customer with 7X24
               support as set forth herein.

        (b)    Problem. Any error, bug, or malfunction that makes any feature of
               the Ask Jeeves Service perform unpredictably or otherwise become
               intermittently available, or that causes the Service to have a
               material degradation in response time performance.

        (c)    Severe Problem. Any error, bug or malfunction that causes the Ask
               Jeeves Service to become inaccessible to Customer and its
               end-users, or that causes any feature of the Service to become
               continuously unavailable.

        (d)    Enhancement Request. A request by Customer to incorporate a new
               feature or enhance an existing feature of the Service (exclusive
               of maintenance of the Knowledgebase.)

        (e)    Fix. A correction, fix, alteration or workaround that solves a
               Problem or a Severe Problem.

2.      Contact Points.

        (a)    Customer Technical Support Personnel. Customer will designate no
               more than three Customer employees as qualified to contact Ask
               Jeeves for technical support.

        (b)    Ask Jeeves Technical Support Personnel. Ask Jeeves will ensure
               that its technical support personnel are adequately trained to
               provide technical support to Customer. Ask Jeeves will provide
               Customer with a web interface or an email address (the "Support
               Address") as well as a pager number (the "Support Pager") for
               contacting the Ask Jeeves Technical Support Personnel no later
               than one week prior to the Launch Date. Ask Jeeves will provide
               Customer with contact information for executive escalation no
               later than one week prior to the Launch Date. Ask Jeeves may
               change its designated Technical Support Personnel and the
               executive escalation personnel at its discretion with reasonable
               notice to Customer.

3.      Support Procedures.

        (a)    All Problems reported by Customer Technical Support Personnel to
               Ask Jeeves must be submitted via web site or email to the Support
               Address.



                                                                              23
<PAGE>   24

        (b)    If Customer believes it is reporting a severe problem, Customer
               will accompany its web site or email request with a page to the
               Support Pager.

        (c)    Upon receiving a report from Customer, Ask Jeeves will determine
               whether the request is a Problem, a Severe Problem or an
               Enhancement Request. Ask Jeeves will respond to the request and
               use reasonable commercial efforts to provide a Fix as described
               in the response table, below.

        (d)    Ask Jeeves will use commercially reasonable efforts to inform
               Customer Technical Support Personnel of Fixes.

4.      Support Levels.

        (a)    Customer will provide technical support to end users who email or
               otherwise contact Customer directly with questions about the
               Customer Site or the Service. Customer will use commercially
               reasonable efforts to Fix any Problems without escalation to Ask
               Jeeves.

        (b)    Ask Jeeves will provide the following technical support solely to
               Customer Technical Support Personnel.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                  TARGET RESPONSE
RECEIPT OF EMAIL          TYPE OF EMAIL           TIME FROM EMAIL         TARGET FIX TIME AND
REQUEST                   REQUEST                 RECEIPT                 REPORTING
<S>                       <C>                     <C>                     <C>
During business hours     Problem                 Within one business     Commercially
or other times                                    day                     reasonable best
                                                                          efforts with weekly
                                                                          status reports to
                                                                          Customer

During the hours of       Severe Problem          Within four hours       Commercially
8:00 a.m.  and 6:00                                                       reasonable best
p.m.  Pacific time                                                        efforts with daily
                                                                          status reports to
                                                                          Customer

During other times        Severe problem          Within four hours       Commercially
                                                                          reasonable best
                                                                          efforts with daily
                                                                          status reports to
                                                                          Customer

During business hours     Enhancement Requests    Within five business    At Ask Jeeves
or other times                                    days                    discretion
</TABLE>

        (c)    In the event Ask Jeeves does not respond to Customer within the
               target response time from email receipt set froth above, then
               Customer may contact the following Ask Jeeves executive
               escalation personnel in order:

        Project Manager



                                                                              24
<PAGE>   25

               Lauren Guzak,

        General Manager, Corporate Systems

               Fadi Samaha,

        Chief Technical Officer

               David Warthen,

        Chief Executive Officer

               Robert Wrubel,



                                                                              25
<PAGE>   26

                                    EXHIBIT F

                         Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement






                                                                              26
<PAGE>   27


                        MUTUAL NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT


Effective Date:  February 1, 1999

In order to protect certain Confidential Information, Compaq Computer
Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries ("COMPAQ"), and the "Participant"
identified below, agree that:

1. DISCLOSING PARTY: The party disclosing Confidential Information

("Discloser") is both parties
(Note:  Fill in "COMPAQ", "Participant", or "both parties".)

2. REPRESENTATIVES: Each party's representative for coordinating disclosure or
receipt of Confidential Information is:

COMPAQ     /s/Seth Romanow
          ----------------------------------------------------
Participant:         /s/ Dan Miller
              ------------------------------------------------

3. DESCRIPTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: The Confidential Information
disclosed under this Agreement is described as:

COMPAQ Compaq.com and Compaq intranet information and related data not publicly
available. Compaq intranet/internet configuration, related software/equipment
support structure, network configuration and related data, pre-release Compaq
product information.

Participant Ask Jeeves technology, research and development and business plans
(Note: Be specific: for example, individually list materials provided, if
necessary. Please attach additional sheets referencing this Agreement and signed
by the parties.)

4. RESTRICTIONS: The party receiving Confidential Information ("Recipient")
shall maintain the Confidential Information in confidence and disclose the
Confidential Information only to its employees, subcontractors, and consultants
that have a need to know such Confidential Information in order to fulfill the
purpose described below provided that Recipient shall first have entered into a
confidentiality agreement with such employees, subcontractors, and consultants
that is substantially similar to this. Recipient shall make use of the
Confidential Information only for the following purpose (check one):

[ ]  Evaluation in anticipation of a business relationship between the parties.

[ ]  Developing a proposal for Discloser.

[ ]  Modification of Recipient's product to enhance compatibility with
     Discloser's product.

[X]  Furthering the business relationship between the parties.

[ ]  Other
           ---------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Requires approval from Compaq's legal dept. Be specific. If necessary, please
attach additional sheet referencing this Agreement and signed by the parties.)


5. CONFIDENTIALITY PERIOD: This Agreement and Recipient's duty to protect
Confidential Information expires three (3) years from the date of receipt of
Confidential Information.

6. DISCLOSURE PERIOD: This Agreement applies to Confidential Information
described in Paragraph 3 that is disclosed between the Effective Date and two
(2) years thereafter.

7. STANDARD OF CARE: Recipient shall protect the disclosed Confidential
Information by using the same degree of care as Recipient

                           COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION
                          20555 SH 249, P.O. Box 692000
                             Houston, TX 77269-2000

By    /s/H. Seth Romanow
   -----------------------------------------------------
Printed Name         H. Seth Romanow
               -----------------------------------------
Title      Director, Internet/Marketing
          ----------------------------------------------

uses to protect its own Confidential Information _________ less than a
reasonable degree of care to prevent the unauthorized use, disclosure,
dissemination, or publication of the Confidential Information.

8. MARKETING: Recipient's obligations shall only extend to Confidential
Information that is described in Paragraph 3, and that: (a) is marked as
confidential at the time of disclosure; or (b) is unmarked (e.g. orally
disclosed) but treated as confidential at the time of disclosure, and is
designated as confidential in a written memorandum sent to Recipient's
representative within thirty (30) days of disclosure, summarizing the
Confidential Information sufficiently for identification.
                                                                        27

9. EXCLUSIONS: This Agreement imposes no obligation upon Recipient with respect
to Confidential Information that: (a) was rightfully in Recipient's possession
before receipt from Discloser; (b) is or becomes a matter of public knowledge
through no fault of Recipient; (c) is rightfully received by Recipient from a
third party without a duty of confidentiality; (d) is disclosed by Discloser to
a third party without a duty of confidentiality on the third party; (e) is
independently developed by Recipient; (f) must be disclosed under operation of
law or regulation; or (g) is disclosed by Recipient with Discloser's prior
written approval.

10. WARRANTY: Each Discloser warrants that it has the right to make the
disclosures under this Agreement. NO OTHER WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES
AGAINST INFRINGEMENT, ARE MADE BY EITHER PARTY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. ANY
INFORMATION EXCHANGED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS".

11. RIGHTS: Neither party acquires any intellectual property rights under this
Agreement except the limited rights necessary to carry out the Purpose set forth
in Paragraph 4. This Agreement shall not restrict reassignment of Recipient's
employees.

12. EXPORT LAWS AND REGULATIONS: The parties agree to adhere to all applicable
U.S. Export Laws and Regulations and that absent any required prior
authorization from the Office of Export Licensing. U.S. Department of Commerce,
they will knowingly export or re-export (as defined in Part 779 of the Export
Administration Regulations), directly or indirectly, through their affiliates,
licensees, or subsidiaries, any of the Confidential Information (or any product,
process, or service resulting directly therefrom) to any country restricted by
U.S. law or governmental order.

13. ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE ACT: The Confidential Information disclosed under this
Agreement is subject to the provisions of the Economic Espionage Act of 1995.

14. MISCELLANEOUS:

14a. This Agreement imposes no obligation on either party to purchase, transfer
or otherwise dispose of any technology, services or products.

14b. This Agreement does not create any agency or partnership relationship. Each
party is responsible for its own expenses incurred as a result of any
discussions between the parties.

14c. This Agreement embodies the entire understanding between the parties
pertaining to the subject matter hereof. Any additions or modifications to this
Agreement must be made in writing and must be signed by both parties. Facsimile
signatures are deemed equivalent to original signatures for purposes of this
Agreement.

14d. This Agreement shall be construed according to the substantive laws of the
State of Texas, U.S.A.

                                   PARTICIPANT

Name       Ask Jeeves, Inc.
       -----------------------------------------------------------------
                              (Name of Participant)

Address    918 Parker St.
       -----------------------------------------------------------------

           Berkeley, CA  94710
       -----------------------------------------------------------------
                            (Address of Participant)

By         /s/ Dan Miller
       -----------------------------------------------------------------
                      (Signature of Authorized Participant)

Printed Name         Dan Miller
       -----------------------------------------------------------------

Title      EVP
       -----------------------------------------------------------------




                                                                      28