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                                                                   Exhibit 10.40

                               SECOND AMENDMENT TO
                        SNAP STRATEGIC ALLIANCE AGREEMENT

         THIS is a second Amendment (the "Amendment") to that certain Snap
Strategic Alliance Agreement, dated as of October 29, 1999, between Snap, LLC
("Snap"), Xoom.com, Inc. ("Xoom") and HealthGate Data Corp. (the "Company"), as
previously amended by the terms of the parties' first amendment dated December
14, 1999 (the "Strategic Alliance Agreement"). The parties hereto seek to
further amend the Strategic Alliance Agreement in order, among other things, to
augment their strategic alliance, to reflect the assignment of the Strategic
Alliance Agreement by Snap and Xoom to NBC Internet, Inc. and to clarify certain
provisions of the Strategic Alliance Agreement.

A. Pursuant to Sections 1.4 and 17.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement, Snap
and Xoom hereby assign all of their rights and liabilities (and obligations)
under the Strategic Alliance Agreement to NBC Internet, Inc., a Delaware
corporation, with a principal place of business at 225 Bush Street, San
Francisco, California 94103 ("NBCi"), and NBCi hereby accepts the assignment of
such rights and liabilities. All references to Snap and Xoom, and all
derivatives thereof (except where the context clearly implies otherwise), in the
Agreement shall, from the effective date of this Amendment, be interpreted to
refer to NBCi. The Company, however, acknowledges that NBCi may fulfill its
obligations under the Strategic Alliance Agreement itself (or assign or delegate
its rights, liabilities and obligations to) various of its subsidiaries,
including Snap, Xoom, and flyswat, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("flyswat");
provided, however, NBCi shall remain liable for all such assigned or delegated
rights, liabilities and obligations. The parties agree to launch the redesigned
Company Content and Company Site, as described in the Agreement, as modified by
this Amendment, by October 31, 2000. The Company may issue a press release
regarding this Amendment only with the express written consent of NBCi. NBCi
shall have the right to approve the form and content of such press release.

B. The parties hereby agree to amend the Strategic Alliance Agreement as
follows:

         1.       Section 1.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  1.2      NBCi and/or its subsidiaries operate a search and
                           aggregation "portal" site on the Web and a direct
                           marketing site on the Web.

         2.       Section 1.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  1.3      Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
                           Agreement, the Company acknowledges that NBCi is
                           currently rebranding and redesigning some or all of
                           the NBCi Sites (including the site operating under
                           the "Snap" brand), and NBCi's rights and obligations
                           under this Agreement will be applied to such
                           rebranded and redesigned sites subject to NBCi's

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                           discretion. Any reference to "Snap" in this Agreement
                           shall be understood to include Snap's successors and
                           any brand for such successors.

         3.       Section 2.5 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  2.5      "Click Thrus" means any type of link (but not a
                           Promotion paid for by the Company as an Impression)
                           from the NBCi Sites, a Wire, or flyswat's Web
                           navigation software that a User (as tagged by NBCi
                           pursuant to Section 11.2) depresses or "clicks-on"
                           and that delivers the User, to the Co-Branded Site or
                           the Company Site.

         4.       Section 2.7 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  2.7.     "Commerce Offering" means any text, content, links or
                           promotions providing a direct or indirect opportunity
                           for Users on the Snap or NBCi Sites, the Company Site
                           or the Co-Branded Site to engage in a commerce,
                           purchase, trade, exchange, or purchase transaction,
                           whether paid or unpaid, or any registration or
                           membership opportunity for Users to provide User
                           Profile Data, including, without limitation, content
                           purchase opportunities, registration or membership
                           sign-up opportunities, for-fee or subscription-based
                           content or services, other purchase opportunities for
                           products or services offered by the Company directly
                           or indirectly, links to any such opportunities
                           presented to Users on the Snap or NBCi Sites, the
                           Company Site, or the Co-Branded Site, or other
                           content areas of those Sites.

         5.       Section 2.12 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  2.12     "Company Site" means the Web site operated by the
                           Company, including its Corporate Home Page located at
                           http://www.healthgate.com, and all subsequent pages
                           and sub-directories which incorporate the NBCi Design
                           Template and which are located at
                           http://www.healthgate.nbci.com, together with any
                           mirror sites, and successors to any of the foregoing,
                           which comprise the Company's consumer oriented Web
                           site.

         6.       Section 2.29 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  2.29     "NBCi Sites" means: (i) subject to the "Distributor"
                           (as defined in Section 6.1 below) exclusion in
                           Section 6.1, any and all search and aggregation
                           "portal," direct marketing, and commerce Web sites,
                           whether operated by NBCi, Snap, Xoom or a third party
                           under the "NBCi," "Snap" or "Xoom" brand, including,
                           without limitation, the Web sites located at
                           http://www.snap.com, http://www.xoom.com,
                           http://www.nbc.com, and http://www.videoseeker.com,
                           together with any mirror sites, any co-branded

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                           editions of such site that have been or may be
                           developed for Distributors, and successors to the
                           foregoing; (ii) if NBCi so elects within its sole
                           discretion, the Enhanced Site and/or the
                           International Editions, subject to Section 6.2; and
                           (iii) if NBCi so elects within its sole discretion,
                           the Web site located at http://www.nbcin.com and
                           successors thereto and NBC's network of affiliate
                           stations' Web sites, as updated from time to time by
                           NBCi in its sole discretion.

         7.       Section 2.32 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  2.32     "User Profile Data" means data regarding a User
                           provided by the User on the NBCi Sites, Company Sites
                           or the Co-Branded Site or otherwise to NBCi or the
                           Company, including without limitation the User's
                           name, e-mail address, street address, telephone
                           number and other information about the User.

         8.       Section 2.34 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  2.34     "Wires" means NBCi's email newsletters sent to NBCi
                           Members by NBCi or one of its subsidiaries, including
                           the Snap Wires and the Xoom Wires.

         9.       Section 3.3.1 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised
                  to read as follows:

                  3.3.1    IMPRESSIONS. Beginning on the Launch Date, NBCi will
                           use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver a
                           total number of Impressions in the aggregate dollar
                           amount of $7,500,000 during Year One and the Company
                           agrees to complete the purchase of an aggregate
                           dollar amount of $7,500,000 in Impressions by
                           December 31, 2000. Delivery of the Impressions
                           hereunder will be based on a schedule and placement
                           guidelines selected by NBCi in its reasonable
                           discretion, taking into consideration the reasonable
                           requests of the Company, and at a 30% discount from
                           the rates set forth in the applicable NBCi's standard
                           rate card attached hereto as EXHIBIT B; provided,
                           however, that if all of the rates set forth in NBCi's
                           then current standard rate card decrease during the
                           Term by more than 15% relative to all of the rates
                           set forth in EXHIBIT B, then the number of
                           Impressions to be reasonably calculated by NBCi and
                           to be delivered by NBCi hereunder shall increase in
                           proportion to the amount of decrease in rates in
                           excess of the aforementioned 15%, with the number
                           such additional Impressions to be reasonably
                           calculated by NBCi and to be delivered by NBCi at
                           such time and in such manner as NBCi in its sole
                           discretion shall decide during the remainder of the
                           Term. Any Impression not listed in the applicable
                           NBCi standard rate card shall be assigned the value
                           of a comparable Impression on such rate card by NBCi.

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         10.      Section 3.3.4 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised
                  to read as follows:

                  3.3.4    [deleted by agreement of the parties]

         11.      A new Section 3.6.3 is added to read as follows:

                  3.6.3    COMPANY STAFFING. The Company shall provide
                           commercially reasonable staffing, consisting of an
                           average of at least 10 full time employees during
                           each calendar quarter during the Term, including a
                           product manager and engineering and product staff,
                           dedicated to the Company Content and the Company Site
                           in order to maintain, update and provide the Company
                           Content at the current level of quality, availability
                           and depth or as described in this Agreement.

         12.      A new Section 3.7 is added to read as follows:

                  3.7      CHANGES TO COMPANY CONTENT. Should the Company wish
                           to materially reduce, alter, diminish or eliminate
                           content from the Company Content or the Company Site
                           (a "Content Change"), the Company shall obtain prior
                           written approval from NBCi for such action.
                           Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall, in
                           its reasonable discretion, have the right to replace,
                           substitute and update the content in order to
                           maintain the content as Best of Breed.
                           Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not
                           undertake a Content Change on channels, sections, or
                           pages of the Company Content or the Company Site
                           which would impair NBCi's ability to fulfill NBCi
                           contractual obligations to deliver advertising or
                           promotional opportunities to a third party. NBCi
                           shall promptly notify the Company if any such
                           advertising or promotional commitments include
                           offering an advertisement or sponsorship in the
                           content area of the Company Site so as to allow
                           adequate editorial planning. In addition, any such
                           commitments shall not impact the editorial
                           independence of the Company nor shall such
                           commitments prevent the Company from maintaining the
                           content as Best of Breed.

         13.      A new Section 3.8 is added to read as follows:

                  3.8      TRAFFIC REDIRECT. Except as provided in the following
                           sentence, the Company shall redirect all traffic from
                           the Company Site to http://healthgate.nbci.com or
                           another URL or URLs designated by NBCi so that NBCi
                           shall receive credit for all page views or
                           impressions as measured by third party organizations
                           including, but not limited to, Media Metrix. The
                           previous sentence shall not apply to (i) the traffic
                           to the Company corporate home page (the "Corporate
                           Home Page") which may only contain information about
                           the Company, its various products (which shall not
                           include any links to or mention products similar in
                           nature to the

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                           relationship contemplated pursuant to this
                           Agreement), the Company's investor relations
                           information, and other information which may be
                           mutually agreed upon by the parties from time to
                           time; and (ii) any traffic related to the Company's
                           "Choice Partner Program" Web sites,

         14.      A new Section 3.9 is added to read as follows:

                  3.9      NBCi DESIGN TEMPLATE. The Company shall implement the
                           NBCi Design Template, as described in the attached
                           EXHIBIT E, on all pages of the Company Site except
                           for the Corporate Home Page.

         15.      A new Section 3.10 is added to read as follows:

                  3.10     XML FEED. The Company shall provide to NBCi an XML
                           feed of the content described in EXHIBIT F, in
                           addition to the Company Content described in Section
                           3.2. Such content shall be incorporated into NBCi's
                           Health Channel at the discretion of NBCi, maintaining
                           any applicable trademarks or branding as required by
                           the Company in its agreements with its content
                           providers. The Company agrees to use commercially
                           reasonable efforts to minimize the amount and
                           prominence of such trademarks and branding.

         16.      A new Section 3.11 is added to read as follows:

                  3.11     ADVERTISING ON THE COMPANY SITE.

                           3.11.1   In the content areas of the Company Site,
                                    the Company shall maintain the right to
                                    sell, barter or exchange for value any and
                                    all sponsorship or promotional opportunities
                                    with the exception of banner advertisements.
                                    The Company shall retain all revenue derived
                                    from such sponsorship or promotional
                                    opportunities.

                           3.11.2   NBCi shall own and have the right to use,
                                    sell, barter and exchange for value, and
                                    serve or serve through a third party, all of
                                    the banner advertising inventory on the
                                    Company Site, except for the Corporate Home
                                    Page. NBCi shall pay to the Company 20% of
                                    "Net Revenues" (as defined below) associated
                                    with all banner advertising sold by NBCi on
                                    the Company Site. "Net Revenues" shall be
                                    defined as gross revenues actually received
                                    by NBCi from the sale of banner advertising
                                    on pages of the Company Site less all
                                    associated advertising agency commissions,
                                    third party ad serving costs, sales
                                    commissions and advertising related
                                    production costs (all such commissions and
                                    costs shall not exceed 20%). NBCi shall make
                                    such payments within forty-five (45) days
                                    after the end of each calendar quarter and
                                    shall accompany such payments with a
                                    statement setting forth NBCi's calculation
                                    of Net Revenues for such quarter.

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                           3.11.3   NBCi shall allow the Company to purchase up
                                    to twenty five percent (25%) of the
                                    available unsold or uncommitted banner
                                    inventory on the Company Site, as determined
                                    in NBCi's sole discretion, for the purpose
                                    of resale by the Company to third parties.
                                    The Company shall purchase such inventory at
                                    a discount of thirty percent (30%) from
                                    NBCi's standard rate card at the time. The
                                    Company must comply with any advertising or
                                    competitor restrictions as determined by
                                    NBCi.

                           3.11.4   In addition, NBCi will allow the Company to
                                    retain the necessary number of banner
                                    impressions to meet the Company's
                                    contractual agreements with its advertisers
                                    and sponsors existing as of August 21, 2000,
                                    including, but not limited to, Medical
                                    SelfCare, Inc; provided, however, that such
                                    impressions do not take up more than forty
                                    percent (40%) of the total Company Site
                                    banner inventory.

         17.      Section 4.1 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  4.1      ANCHOR TENANT OF CERTAIN HEALTH CHANNEL CONTENT
                           AREAS. After the Launch Date and during the Term,
                           NBCi will feature the Company as the Anchor Tenant
                           within seven of the following nine major content
                           areas within the Health Channel: Alternative
                           Medicine, Drugs & Medications, Diseases & Conditions,
                           Nutrition, Women's Health, Sexual Health, Men's
                           Health, Child & Youth Health and Public Health. The
                           Company shall specify in writing its preference for
                           the seven major content areas in which it wishes to
                           be featured as Anchor Tenant at least thirty days
                           prior to the Launch Date. NBCi Product Managers shall
                           determine the major content areas in which the
                           Company shall be featured as the Anchor Tenant.
                           Subject to this SECTION 4, NBCi may, in the exercise
                           of its reasonable discretion, make changes to the
                           design and functionality of the Health Channel
                           including, without limitation, the names of major
                           content areas; provided, however, that major content
                           areas similar to, or addressing the general
                           categories listed above shall exist within the Health
                           Channel during the Term. As the Anchor Tenant of
                           seven major content areas of the Health Channel, the
                           Company will receive the most prominent positioning
                           within each of such major content areas. During the
                           Term, there shall be no other Anchor Tenant of any of
                           the seven major content areas of the Health Channel
                           in which the Company is then the Anchor Tenant;
                           provided, however, that other major content areas,
                           content not provided by the Company, subject to the
                           terms of SECTION 3.2, and/or links to other,
                           non-Company sites may exist on the same Web page and
                           elsewhere within the Health Channel. The Company
                           acknowledges that NBCi may feature Anchor Tenants
                           other than the Company on any major

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                           content area within the Health Channel that is not
                           one of the seven major content areas of the Health
                           Channel in which the Company is the Anchor Tenant.
                           NBCi and the Company shall negotiate in good faith to
                           incorporate additional health-related Company
                           content, so long as such content is Best of Breed,
                           within the content areas of the Health Channel in
                           which the Company is not the Anchor Tenant, provided;
                           however, NBCi shall not be obligated to negotiate
                           with respect to such Company content if an agreement
                           with Company regarding such Company content would be
                           interpreted or operate to cause NBCi to breach any
                           existing contract or agreement between NBCi and any
                           other party, or impair the rights of any such
                           contract party pursuant to an existing contract or
                           agreement with NBCi. In the event that NBCi elects to
                           add new content areas on the Health Channel or
                           elsewhere on the NBCi Sites, NBCi will in good faith
                           first discuss with the Company obtaining additional
                           health-related Company content, so long as such
                           content is Best of Breed, for such additional new
                           content areas. NBCi will not enter into an agreement
                           to add or create new health-related content areas on
                           the Health Channel with another party pursuant to an
                           agreement which is comparable in number of content
                           areas or total consideration to those of this
                           Agreement. On the Health Channel, the Company will
                           have the right to program up to five Health Content
                           Portals, each measuring no larger than approximately
                           150 x 400 pixels, with relevant content and links to
                           relevant content on the Company Site and to relevant
                           content on Company Choice Partner Program Web sites,
                           or to other sites, as mutually agreed upon by the
                           parties. NBCi shall have the right, in its sole
                           discretion, to add additional content portals on the
                           Health Channel; provided, however, the Company shall
                           have the right to program one additional Health
                           Content Portal, with the specifications set forth in
                           the foregoing sentence, for each health content
                           portal on the Health Channel greater than three that
                           NBCi elects to add in addition to the five Health
                           Content Portals. Company will provide the appropriate
                           Company Content, subject to the reasonable discretion
                           of a NBCi Product Manager, for the Health Content
                           Portals. The NBCi Product Manager may provide the
                           Company with reasonable assistance to enable the
                           Company to effectively design the Health Content
                           Portals. Subject to this SECTION 4.1, the NBCi
                           Product Manager will determine the size and location,
                           and the Look and Feel, of the Health Content Portals;
                           provided, however, that the Health Content Portals
                           will begin Above the Fold within five of the seven
                           major content areas of the Health Channel in which
                           the Company is the Anchor Tenant.

         18.      Section 4.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  4.2      HARVESTING. Except as set forth in Section 3.1, the
                           Company shall, beginning on the Effective Date,
                           provide all Company Content as required

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                           under this Section 4 pursuant to NBCi's harvesting
                           technical specifications, as updated in NBCi's sole
                           discretion from time to time, including those
                           described in http://partnermarketing.snap.com/guide,
                           or any other successor URLs designated by NBCi. NBCi
                           shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to
                           harvest such Company Content in a manner requiring a
                           User of the NBCi Sites to "click through" as many as
                           two Web pages within the NBCi Sites before the User
                           is transferred to the Company Sites or the Co-Branded
                           Site. Harvested Company Content will maintain the
                           NBCi Sites' Look and Feel and will include branding
                           for the Company using Company Marks, in such form and
                           placement as an NBCi Product Manager shall determine
                           in his or her sole discretion. Harvested Company
                           Content shall not include any Commerce Offering,
                           except at NBCi's sole discretion. The Company shall
                           ensure that all Company Content remains at all times
                           current by continually providing NBCi with timely
                           updates to the Company Content. Under no
                           circumstances shall Company Content include any
                           content of a Competitor or reference a Competitor.

         19.      Section 4.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  4.3      INTERNAL PROMOTIONS. Subject to the discretion of an
                           NBCi Product Manager, during the Term, NBCi shall
                           promote and link the Health Channel within and
                           throughout the NBCi Sites. Subject to the discretion
                           of an NBCi Product Manager, the Company may receive
                           internal promotional links within relevant sub-areas
                           of the NBCi Sites that link to the Co-Branded Site or
                           Company Site. Such relevant sub-areas may include,
                           without limitation, the following: Shopping, Local,
                           Education, Kids and Family. NBCi, in its sole
                           discretion, has the right to create, maintain or
                           discontinue any of the foregoing sub-areas on the
                           NBCi Sites. In addition, NBCi may include a link to
                           the Health Channel, Company Site and/or the
                           Co-Branded Site within issues of a Wire, as
                           determined by NBCi in its sole discretion.

         20.      A new Section 4.6 is added to read as follows:

                  4.6      COMPANY LOGO. NBCi shall provide a clickable Company
                           logo on the Health Content Portals that shall link to
                           the Corporate Home Page or another mutually agreed
                           upon page or URL operated by the Company.

         21.      A new Section 4.7 is added to read as follows:

                  4.7      NBCi INTERACTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD CITY CENTER LINKS. As
                           mutually agreed by the parties, NBCi shall create
                           links within each applicable NBCi Interactive
                           Neighborhood City Center on the NBCi Sites to the
                           appropriate Company Choice Partner Program Web sites.

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         22.      A new Section 4.8 is added to read as follows:

                  4.8      ANCHOR TENANCY SPONSORSHIPS. On a case-by-case basis,
                           NBCi may allow the Company to sell select
                           sponsorships within the Anchor Tenancy areas on the
                           NBCi Health Channel described in Section 4.1. NBCi
                           shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to
                           approve said sponsors.

         23.      A new Section 4.9 is added to read as follows:

                  4.9      SPONSORSHIPS ON CHOICE HOSPITAL SITES. On a
                           case-by-case basis, NBCi agrees to review potential
                           sponsorship opportunities (such as co-branded NBCi
                           home pages) on selected CHOICE hospital sites, at a
                           mutually agreeable rate to be determined on a
                           site-by-site basis.

         24.      A new Section 4.10 is added to read as follows:

                  4.10     ADDITIONAL COMPANY PRODUCT CONCEPTS. The Company
                           agrees to produce the product concepts set forth on
                           EXHIBIT G if NBCi, in its sole discretion, desires to
                           include such new and/or expanded offerings from the
                           Company in the NBCi Health Channel, up to a maximum
                           cost to the Company of $1,834,000 in Year Two, and up
                           to $2,000,000 in Year Three, at the Company's then
                           current consulting rates, plus any applicable content
                           licensing fees.

         25.      A new Section 5.9 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is
                  revised to read as follows:

                  5.9      DISCONTINUANCE OF CO-BRANDED SITE. Upon the full
                           implementation of the NBCi Design Template on the
                           Company Site as described in Section 3.9, the
                           Co-Branded Site shall be discontinued and the
                           provisions of this Section 5 shall be of no further
                           effect.

         26.      Section 7 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  7.       NBC ON-AIR PROMOTION. During Year One, NBCi will
                           create and run a series (i.e., no less than two) of
                           dedicated thirty-second NBCi television
                           advertisements which air during morning or daytime
                           programs appearing on the NBC Television Network,
                           local television stations or cable services for
                           health, wellness and/or medicine related content
                           areas on the NBCi Sites (the "Spots"). NBCi agrees
                           that Self Care and the Company will be featured in
                           the Spots, in NBCi's discretion, through either (i) a
                           promotional tag (meaning a text or graphic promoting
                           the Self Care and Company brands or services) of at
                           least four seconds appearing at the end

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                           of such Spots, or (ii) an integrated sales message
                           within the body of such Spots which at a minimum will
                           consist of a voice over of at least four seconds in
                           length regarding the Self Care and Company brands or
                           services. NBCi shall have sole discretion regarding
                           the form and content of such advertisements but will
                           consult with the Company regarding how the Company's
                           brand or services will be featured in the Spots.
                           Beginning no less than thirty days following the
                           Effective Date and continuing throughout the rest of
                           Year One, the Spots will run an average of six times
                           per month. The Company acknowledges that all
                           placement of brands or services within the Spots, as
                           well as the Spots themselves, will be subject to the
                           NBC Advertising Standard Terms and Conditions as well
                           as the Advertising Standards set by NBC Broadcast
                           Standards and Practices, and NBCi will have no right
                           or power to cause NBC to make any exception thereto
                           for the Company or the Spots. The Company
                           acknowledges that neither NBCi nor NBC makes any
                           guarantee regarding what the actual rating for any
                           particular Spot will be and, therefore, will not be
                           obligated to provide any make-goods hereunder.

         27.      Section 8.1 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  8.1      DATA OWNERSHIP. NBCi will be the sole owner of any
                           information that NBCi collects from Users through the
                           NBCi Sites. The Company and NBCi shall jointly own
                           any information collected from Users through the
                           Co-Branded Site. The Company and NBCi shall jointly
                           own any information collected from Users through the
                           Company Site, with the exception of information
                           collected from Users on the Corporate Home Page or
                           the Company's Choice Partner Program Web site or any
                           other pages as mutually agreed upon by the parties,
                           which information shall be solely owned by the
                           Company. Further, if a User whose User Profile Data
                           is contained in the Company Database receives an
                           email from NBCi pursuant to SECTION 8.4 and purchases
                           products offered in such email through NBCi or an
                           affiliated Web site, then the User Profile Data for
                           such User shall be owned jointly by NBCi and the
                           Company from and after the time of such purchase.

         28.      Section 8.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  8.2      USE OF INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY. Each party
                           will have the right to use any information provided
                           by the other party pursuant to Section 11 subject to
                           the confidentiality restrictions set forth in Section
                           17.5. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all data
                           collected from Users through the Co-Branded Site
                           and/or Company Site will be subject to the then
                           current privacy policy of NBCi, unless specifically
                           made subject to the terms of the Company privacy
                           policy; provided that in such cases the Company's

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                           privacy policy with respect to NBCi's access to, and
                           use and disclosure of, data collected from such Users
                           may not be more restrictive than the then-current
                           privacy policy of NBCi.

         29.      Section 9.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  9.2      ANCHOR TENANCY FEES. The Company will pay NBCi a
                           $7,500,000 fee for the Anchor Tenant positions on the
                           Health Channel during Year One (the "Year One AT
                           Fee"). $5,000,000 of the Year One AT Fee shall be
                           payable in Common Stock of the Company as further
                           provided in SECTION 9.8 and pursuant to the parties'
                           November 3, 1999 and January 18, 2000 Stock Purchase
                           Agreements. The balance of the Year One AT Fee shall
                           be payable in cash on the day which is thirty days
                           after the Initial Registration Date. Payments of the
                           Year One AT Fee shall be non-refundable except as
                           provided in SECTION 10.6. For the Anchor Tenant
                           positions on the Health Channel during Year Two, the
                           Company will pay NBCi $5,666,666 in five payments to
                           NBCi, with the first payment in the amount of
                           $166,666 being due on December 1, 2000, and the
                           remaining amount to be paid in four equal
                           installments of $1,375,000 each on the first day of
                           each calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2001. For
                           the Anchor Tenant positions on the Health Channel
                           during Year Three, the Company will pay NBCi
                           $5,500,000 in four equal installments of $1,375,000
                           each on the first day of each calendar quarter
                           beginning January 1, 2002.

         30.      Section 9.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  9.3      MEDIA FEES. The Company will also pay NBCi a
                           $7,500,000 fee for all Impressions NBCi delivers
                           during Year One pursuant to SECTION 3.3 (the "Year
                           One Media Fees"). $5,000,000 of the Year One Media
                           Fees shall be payable in Common Stock of the Company
                           as further provided in SECTION 9.8 and pursuant to
                           the parties' November 3, 1999 and January 18, 2000
                           Stock Purchase Agreements. The balance of the Year
                           One Media Fees shall be payable in cash on the day
                           which is thirty days after the Initial Registration
                           Date. Payments of the Year One Media Fees shall be
                           non-refundable except as provided in SECTION 10.6.

         31.      Section 9.5 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  9.5      [deleted by agreement of the parties]

                                       11
<PAGE>

         32.      The first sentence of Section 9.8 of the Strategic Alliance
                  Agreement is revised to read as follows:

                  9.8      As provided in SECTION 9.2 and SECTION 9.3,
                           $5,000,000 of the Year One AT Fee and $5,000,000 of
                           the Year One Media Fee shall be payable to NBCi in
                           shares of the Company's Common Stock (the "Shares")
                           pursuant to the parties' November 3, 1999 and January
                           18, 2000 Stock Purchase Agreements.

         33.      Section 10.7 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  10.7     CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION. Upon the termination or
                           expiration of this Agreement, all licenses granted
                           hereunder shall immediately terminate and each party
                           shall return or destroy all Confidential Information
                           of the other party in its possession. In addition, in
                           the event this Agreement is terminated pursuant to
                           SECTION 10.2 and/or 10.3, then all monies paid by the
                           Company to NBCi hereunder prior to the termination
                           shall be deemed non-refundable except as expressly
                           stated otherwise in this Agreement. Finally, in the
                           event this Agreement is terminated by NBCi only
                           pursuant to SECTION 10.2 and/or SECTION 10.3
                           (excluding termination for Company's failure to
                           maintain the Company Site, Company Content or the
                           Co-Branded Site as Best of Breed pursuant to SECTION
                           3.5), or in the event the Company requests that the
                           parties renegotiate the Agreement or the Amendment,
                           then the Company shall continue to pay 55% of all
                           fees payable by the Company to NBCi during the
                           remainder of the Term as liquidated damages. Such
                           payments shall be due and payable on the dates they
                           would have been due and payable if the termination or
                           renegotiation had not occurred. The Company
                           acknowledges that NBCi has entered into this
                           Amendment at Company's request. The parties
                           acknowledge and agree that it would be impractical to
                           estimate the amount of any damages that could arise
                           out of any material breach of this Agreement or
                           termination pursuant to SECTION 10.2 and/or SECTION
                           10.3, or out of any request for renegotiation by the
                           Company, and agree that the amount of liquidated
                           damages described above is a reasonable estimate of
                           the actual damages that NBCi would suffer and incur
                           as a result of such breach or termination of this
                           Agreement or request for renegotiation. No party
                           shall be liable to the others for damages of any sort
                           resulting solely from terminating this Agreement in
                           accordance with its terms.

         34.      Section 11.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  11.2     COMPANY REPORTS. Within 15 days after the end of each
                           month during the Term, the Company will provide to
                           NBCi a complete and detailed report that includes, at
                           a minimum, for such month: (i) the total page views
                           on the Co-Branded Site and Company Site, (ii) the
                           total number of Click Thrus delivered for such month
                           and the aggregate number of Click Thrus

                                       12
<PAGE>

                           delivered since the beginning of the Contract Year
                           containing such month, (iii) the total payment due
                           NBCi from the Company, if any, pursuant to SECTION
                           9.5, (iv) the number of unique Users to the Company
                           Site and/or Co-Branded Site from the Health Channel,
                           (v) the number of Users and User Profile Data for
                           Users who click through from the NBCi Sites or a link
                           generated by the flyswat software to the Company Site
                           and/or the Co-Branded Site, (vi) the number of Users
                           and User Profile Data for Users who click through
                           from the NBCi Sites or a link generated by the
                           flyswat software to the Company Site and/or the
                           Co-Branded Site and order Company Products and (vii)
                           the aggregate statistical and demographic
                           characteristics of Users in (iv), (v) and (vi). NBCi
                           will tag each User of the Co-Branded Site originating
                           from the NBCi Sites or clicking through from a link
                           generated by the flyswat software using a cookie or
                           other similar technology to assist the Company in
                           obtaining the foregoing data.

         35.      Section 12.1 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  12.1     COMPANY MARKS AND CONTENT. The Company hereby grants
                           to NBCi and its subsidiaries a non-exclusive,
                           non-transferable, royalty-free license, effective
                           throughout the Term, to use, display and publish the
                           Company Marks and Company Content solely as permitted
                           hereunder in any medium or through any technology now
                           known or hereafter devised; provided, however, that
                           this license shall not apply to any Company Mark that
                           is licensed by the Company from any third party to
                           the extent that the grant of this license to NBCi or
                           its subsidiaries is prohibited by a contractual
                           obligation to such third party which is disclosed in
                           writing to NBCi prior to the Effective Date. In the
                           event the Enhanced Sites and/or the International
                           Editions are deemed included within this Agreement
                           pursuant to Section 6.2, the Company hereby further
                           grants to NBCi and its subsidiaries a non-exclusive,
                           non-transferable, royalty-free license, effective
                           throughout the Term, to modify and create derivative
                           works of the Company Content solely as permitted
                           hereunder. In the event the International Editions
                           are deemed included within this Agreement pursuant to
                           Section 6.2, the Company shall in good faith modify
                           the Company Marks to incorporate changes reasonably
                           suggested by NBCi for the relevant target audience
                           (e.g., complying with local laws or avoiding the use
                           of offensive terms in the local language). Any use of
                           the Company Marks or the Company Content by NBCi must
                           comply with any reasonable usage guidelines
                           communicated by the Company to NBCi from time to
                           time. Nothing contained in this Agreement will give
                           NBCi any right, title or interest in or to the
                           Company Content, the Company Marks or the goodwill
                           associated therewith, except for the limited usage
                           rights expressly provided above. All use of the
                           Company Marks by NBCi will inure to the benefit of
                           and be on behalf of the Company. NBCi

                                       13
<PAGE>

                           acknowledges and agrees that the Company is the sole
                           owner of all rights in and to the Company Marks and
                           the Company Content. NBCi will do nothing
                           inconsistent with such ownership, including (a)
                           attacking the title of the Company to the Company
                           Marks or the validity of the licensed Company Marks,
                           (b) attempting to register the Company Marks alone or
                           as part of its own trademark, or (c) using or
                           attempting to register any marks confusingly similar
                           to the Company Marks.

         36.      Section 12.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  12.2     NBCi MARKS. NBCi hereby grants to the Company a
                           non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty free
                           license, effective throughout the Term, to use,
                           display and publish the NBCi Marks solely within the
                           Company Sites and Co-Branded Site as permitted
                           hereunder. Any use of the NBCi Marks by the Company
                           must comply with any reasonable usage guidelines
                           communicated to the Company by NBCi from time to
                           time. Nothing contained in this Agreement will give
                           the Company any right, title or interest in or to the
                           NBCi Marks or the goodwill associated therewith,
                           except for the limited usage rights expressly
                           provided above. All use of NBCi Marks by the Company
                           will inure to the benefit of and be on behalf of
                           NBCi. The Company acknowledges and agrees that, as
                           between the Company and NBCi, NBCi and its licensors
                           are the sole owners of all rights in and to the NBCi
                           Marks. The Company will do nothing inconsistent with
                           such ownership, including (a) attacking the title of
                           NBCi and its licensors to the NBCi Marks or the
                           validity of the licensed NBCi Marks, (b) attempting
                           to register NBCi Marks alone or as part of its own
                           trademark, or (c) using or attempting to register any
                           marks confusingly similar to NBCi Marks.

         37.      Section 12.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  12.3     [deleted by agreement of the parties]

         38.      Section 16.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised,
                  and a new Section 16.4 is added to the Agreement, to read as
                  follows:

                  16.3     INDEMNIFICATION BY THE COMPANY. The Company shall
                           indemnify, defend and hold each of NBCi and its
                           subsidiaries harmless from and against any Losses
                           that NBCi or its subsidiaries may suffer, incur or be
                           subjected to by reason of any legal action,
                           proceeding, arbitration or other claim by a third
                           party, whether commenced or threatened, arising out
                           of or as a result of (i) the use of Company Content
                           by NBCi in accordance with this Agreement; (ii) the
                           operation of the Company Site or the Co-Branded Site;
                           (iii) the use of any word as a Keyword to trigger a
                           Keyword Promotion; (iv) the offer or sale of

                                       14
<PAGE>

                           Company Products by the Company on or through the
                           Company Site, or the Co-Branded Site or any emails
                           sent by NBCi or a third party pursuant to SECTION
                           8.4, or (v) the authorized and legal use of the
                           Company Database.

                  16.4     INDEMNIFICATION BY NBCi. NBCi shall indemnify, defend
                           and hold each of the Company and its subsidiaries
                           harmless from and against any Losses that the Company
                           or its subsidiaries may suffer, incur or be subjected
                           to by reason of any legal action, proceeding,
                           arbitration or other claim by a third party, whether
                           commenced or threatened, arising out of or as a
                           result of the operation of the NBCi Sites (except in
                           cases where the Company is required to indemnify NBCi
                           under Section 16.3).

         39.      Section 17.1 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  17.1     PROMOTION OF NBCi SITES. The Company may accept
                           advertising from other portals or search engines. If
                           the Company accepts advertising from other portals or
                           search engines, and the Company promotes such portals
                           or search engines within a "partner" area of the
                           Company Site, then the Company shall display the NBCi
                           Marks on such area of the Company Site at least as
                           prominently as such portal or search engine entity.
                           The Company shall ensure that the NBCi Marks on the
                           Company Site link to the Health Channel.

         40.      Section 17.2 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  17.2     ASSIGNMENT. Except as provided in this Section 17.2,
                           neither party shall assign any of its rights under
                           this Agreement nor delegate any of its duties
                           hereunder to another person or legal entity without
                           the prior written consent of the other party, which
                           consent shall not be unreasonably withheld; provided,
                           however, that if the assignee of the Company is a
                           Competitor, NBCi shall have the right to withhold its
                           consent to such assignment in its sole discretion.
                           NBCi shall have the right to assign all of its rights
                           and liabilities hereunder to an affiliate and either
                           party shall have the right to assign all of its
                           rights and liabilities hereunder to any person or
                           entity, other than a Competitor in the case of the
                           Company, that (i) acquires all or substantially all
                           of the party's operating assets (whether by asset
                           sale, stock sale, merger or otherwise) or (ii)
                           results from a merger or reorganization of the party
                           pursuant to any plan of merger or reorganization.
                           This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be
                           binding upon the parties hereto, their respective
                           trustees, successors, permitted assignees, and legal
                           representatives.

                                       15
<PAGE>

         41.      Section 17.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  17.3     RELATIONSHIP OF PARTIES. The parties hereto are
                           independent contractors and nothing contained in this
                           Agreement will be construed to create a joint
                           venture, partnership or the relationship of principal
                           and agent between any of the parties hereto, nor to
                           impose upon either party any obligations for any
                           losses, debts or other obligations incurred by the
                           other party except as expressly set forth herein.

         42.      Section 17.13 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised
                  to read as follows:

                  17.13    NOTICES. All notices given pursuant to this
                           Agreement, shall be in writing, in English, shall be
                           sent by certified or registered air mail with postage
                           prepaid, return receipt requested, by facsimile,
                           overnight express mail, or by hand delivery. Such
                           communications shall be deemed given and received
                           upon confirmation of receipt, if sent by facsimile;
                           the day after delivery if by overnight express mail;
                           or upon delivery if hand delivered; or upon receipt
                           of mailing, if sent by certified or registered mail;
                           and shall be addressed to the parties as set forth
                           above on the first page of this Agreement, or to such
                           other addresses as the parties may designate in
                           writing from time to time.

         43.      A new Section 17.16 is added to read as follows:

                  17.16    NATURE OF AGREEMENT. The parties agree that this
                           Agreement is a lease agreement for internet space and
                           that both parties have obligations under this
                           Agreement. The obligations are such that the failure
                           of either party to perform their respective
                           obligations would constitute a material breach of the
                           Agreement. If the Bankruptcy Courts were to review
                           the nature of this Agreement, both parties agree that
                           it would be considered an executory contract and/or
                           unexpired lease under Section 365 of the Bankruptcy
                           Code, 11 U.S.C et. seq., unless the Agreement is
                           terminated prior to the filing of a petition for
                           bankruptcy relief.

         44.      A new Section 17.17 is added to read as follows:

                  17.17    SEVERABILITY. In the event any provision of this
                           Agreement shall be held to be unenforceable in any
                           jurisdiction, such provision shall, as to such
                           jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such
                           unenforceability; but the remaining provisions of
                           this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect,
                           and any such unenforceability in any jurisdiction
                           shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such
                           provision in any other jurisdiction. The parties
                           shall use their best efforts to replace the provision
                           that is

                                       16
<PAGE>

                           unenforceable with an enforceable provision
                           approximating to the extent possible the original
                           intent of the parties.

         45.      Section 17.3 of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is revised to
                  read as follows:

                  18.5     CONFIDENTIALITY. In connection with the activities
                           contemplated by this Agreement, each party may have
                           access to confidential or proprietary technical or
                           business information of another party, including
                           without limitation (i) proposals, ideas or research
                           related to possible new products or services; (ii)
                           financial statements and other financial information;
                           (iii) any reporting information in Section 12; and
                           (iv) the terms of this Agreement, any Amendments
                           hereto, and the relationship between the parties
                           (collectively, "Confidential Information"). Each
                           party will take reasonable precautions to protect the
                           confidentiality of each of the other party's
                           Confidential Information, which precautions will be
                           at least equivalent to those taken by such party to
                           protect its own Confidential Information. Except as
                           required by law or as necessary to perform under this
                           Agreement, no party will knowingly disclose the
                           Confidential Information of any other party or use
                           such Confidential Information for its own benefit or
                           for the benefit of any third party. Each party's
                           obligations in this Section with respect to any
                           portion of another party's Confidential Information
                           shall terminate when the party seeking to avoid its
                           obligation under such Section can document that: (i)
                           it was in the public domain at or subsequent to the
                           time it was communicated to the receiving party
                           ("Recipient") by the disclosing party ("Discloser")
                           through no fault of Recipient; (ii) it was rightfully
                           in Recipient's possession free of any obligation of
                           confidence at or subsequent to the time it was
                           communicated to Recipient by Discloser; (iii) it was
                           developed by employees or agents of Recipient
                           independently of and without reference to any
                           information communicated to Recipient by Discloser;
                           (iv) it was communicated by the Discloser to an
                           unaffiliated third party free of any obligation of
                           confidence; or (v) the communication was in response
                           to a valid order by a court or other governmental
                           body, was otherwise required by law or was necessary
                           to establish the rights of either party under this
                           Agreement; provided, however, the each party shall
                           use its best efforts to maintain the confidentiality
                           of all Confidential Information with regard to any
                           communications or filings with any court or
                           governmental agency relating to this Agreement, or
                           any Amendment hereto.

         46.      A new EXHIBIT E of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is added
                  to read as attached to this Amendment.

         47.      A new EXHIBIT F of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is added
                  to read as attached to this Amendment.

                                       17
<PAGE>

         48.      A new EXHIBIT G of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is added
                  to read as attached to this Amendment.

         49.      A new EXHIBIT H of the Strategic Alliance Agreement is added
                  to read as attached to this Amendment.

C. PRESS RELEASE. The Company will not make any public statement or other
announcement (including without limitation, issuing a press release or
pre-briefing any member of the press or other third party) relating to the
terms or existence of this Amendment without the prior written approval of
NBCi. Notwithstanding the foregoing and Section 18.5, the Company may issue
the press release relating to this Amendment that has been agreed upon by the
parties prior to the execution of this Amendment and which is attached hereto
as Exhibit H; provided, however, that such press release shall only be issued
one time and at the close of trading on Friday, September 01, 2000, and
through the channels agreed upon in writing by the parties. Moreover, the
Company shall NOT INCLUDE NBCi's stock ticker symbol in the press release,
and shall advise the business wire not to include either NBCi's or GE's stock
ticker symbols in the body of its transmission of the press release or in the
associated coding.

D. SEC FILINGS. Pursuant to section 18.5, in the event that the Company is
required by law to disclose the Amendment or terms thereof to the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission or other governmental or regulatory agencies,
the Company shall use its best efforts to redact the financial and related,
terms of the Amendment from such disclosures or filings

E. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES. In the event of Company's breach of Section C or D of
this Amendment, Company shall pay to NBCi, 55% of the full value of the
Agreement as liquidated damages. Company acknowledges and agrees that it would
be impractial to estimate the amount of any damages to NBCi that could arise out
of Company's breach of Sections C and D of this Amendment and agrees that this
amount is a reasonable estimate of the actual damages that NBCi would suffer and
incur as a result of Company's breach of Section C or D of this Amendment.

F. Except as amended by this Amendment, the Strategic Alliance Agreement will be
and remain in full force and effect in accordance with its terms. Capitalized
terms used in this Amendment will be as defined in the Strategic Alliance
Agreement unless expressly defined in this Amendment.

                                       18
<PAGE>

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Amendment to be effective as
of September 1, 2000.

SNAP! LLC                                   HEALTHGATE DATA Corp.

By: Jim Scheinman                           By: Rick Lawson
   --------------------------------             -------------------------------

Printed Name: Jim Scheinman                 Printed Name: Rick Lawson
             ----------------------                      ----------------------

Title: Sr. VP, Business Development         Title: Vice President & Secretary
      -----------------------------               -----------------------------

Date: 9/1/00                                Date: 9/1/00
     ------------------------------              ------------------------------

XOOM.COM, INC.                              NBC INTERNET, INC.

By: Jim Scheinman                           By: Jim Scheinman
   --------------------------------             --------------------------------

Printed Name: Jim Scheinman                 Printed Name: Jim Scheinman
             ----------------------                       ----------------------

Title: Sr. VP, Business Development         Title: Sr. VP, Business Development
      -----------------------------                -----------------------------

Date: 9/1/00                                Date: 9/1/00
     ------------------------------              -------------------------------

                                       19<PAGE>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.1

  [CONFORMED COPY OF JANUARY 1, 2000 AGREEMENT, AS AMENDED ON NOVEMBER 1, 2000]

                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

          EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT dated as of January 1, 2000 (the "Effective
Date") between True North Communications Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), and Suzanne S. Bettman (the "Executive").

          WHEREAS, the Company is a global communications holding company with
ownership interests in subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures that are
engaged in the advertising agency business, the multimedia production business,
the business of planning and buying of media time and space and related
businesses (the Company and the subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures in
which it from time to time has equity interests are hereinafter referred to
collectively as the "True North Group"); and

          WHEREAS, the Company and the Executive desire to enter into this
Agreement to provide for the employment of the Executive by the Company, upon
the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein.

          NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual
agreements contained herein, the parties hereby agree as follows:

          1.   EMPLOYMENT. The Company hereby employs the Executive and the
Executive hereby agrees to be employed by the Company upon the terms and subject
to the conditions contained in this Agreement. The initial term of employment of
the Executive by the Company pursuant to this Agreement (the "Initial Term")
shall commence on the Effective Date and, unless earlier terminated, shall end
on the third annual anniversary of the Effective Date; provided that the term of
this Agreement shall automatically be extended for three additional years as of
the day immediately following the end of the Initial Term and as of the day
immediately following the end of each subsequent three-year extended term hereof
unless the Company shall have terminated the automatic extension provisions of
this sentence by giving written notice to the Executive at least 30 days prior
to the then applicable termination date. (The Initial Term and any extension of
the term of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 1 are collectively referred
to herein as the "Employment Period.")

          2.   POSITION AND DUTIES. As of the Effective Date, the Executive's
title shall be Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and she shall report
directly to the Company's Chief Executive Officer (the "CEO"). The Executive
shall have the authority, duties and responsibilities commensurate with her
position and title (at the relevant time) and such other duties and
responsibilities (not inconsistent with her position) as are assigned to her
from time to time by the CEO or the Board of Directors of the Company (the
"Board"). During the Employment Period, the Executive shall perform faithfully
and loyally and to the best of the

<PAGE>

Executive's abilities her duties hereunder, shall devote her full business time,
attention and efforts to the affairs of the True North Group and shall use her
reasonable best efforts to promote the interests of the Company. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Executive may engage in charitable, civic or community
activities, provided that they do not interfere with the performance of the
Executive's duties hereunder.

          3.   COMPENSATION.

          (a)  ANNUAL BASE SALARY. The Company shall pay to the Executive an
annual base salary at the rate of $260,000 per annum in accordance with the
Company's regular payroll practices. The annual base salary shall be reviewed
periodically in accordance with guidelines applicable to the Company's senior
executives generally.

          (b)  INCENTIVE COMPENSATION. During the Employment Period, the
Executive shall be entitled to participate in the Company's Executive
Compensation Program, as such Program applies to similarly situated senior
executives and as such Program may be amended from time to time.

          (c)  OTHER BENEFITS. During the Employment Period, the Executive shall
be entitled to participate in the Company's employee benefit plans and programs
and fringe benefits that are generally available to senior executives of the
Company from time to time, including, but not to the extent resulting in
duplicative benefits, the benefit plans and programs and fringe benefit
arrangements generally made available to members of the Management Executive
Committee of the Company (or any successor management governing committee).

          (d)  EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT. During the Employment Period, the Company
shall reimburse the Executive for all proper expenses incurred by her in the
performance of her duties hereunder in accordance with the Company's policies
and procedures for senior executives. The Executive shall submit appropriate
invoices for all such expenses.

          4.   TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT PERIOD.

          (a)  QUALIFYING TERMINATION. For purposes of this Agreement,
"Qualifying Termination" means the occurrence of any of the following events:
(i) termination of the Executive's employment by the Company without Cause (as
defined in subsection (b) below) during the Employment Period, (ii) expiration
of this Agreement at the end of the Initial Term or at the end of any extension
of the term hereof pursuant to a written notice given by the Company to the
Executive in accordance with Section 1 hereof, (iii) termination of the
Executive's employment by the Company on account of the Executive having become
unable (as determined by the Company in good faith) to perform regularly her
duties hereunder by reason of illness or incapacity for a period of more than
four consecutive months (termination for "Disability"), (iv) termination of the
Executive's employment on account of the Executive's death, or (v) termination
of the Executive's employment by the Executive due to and within 60 days of the
occurrence, without the Executive's consent, of any of the following events: (1)
any change or changes in the Executive's duties and responsibilities that, taken
as a whole, result in a material

                                     - 2 -
<PAGE>

diminution of the Executive's duties and responsibilities, including, but not
limited to, and change resulting in the Executive no longer serving as the
General Counsel of the publicly-held parent company of the True North Group, (2)
a material breach of the Company's obligations set forth in this Agreement, (3)
a decrease in the Executive's base salary, or (4) any requirement of the Company
that the location where the Executive is based be materially changed.

For purposes of this Agreement, an isolated, insubstantial and inadvertent
action taken by the Company in good faith and which is remedied by the Company
promptly (the later of 60 days or as soon as reasonably practicable) after
receipt of written notice thereof given by the Executive shall not constitute a
basis for a Qualifying Termination.

          (b)  DEFINITION OF CAUSE. The Company may terminate the Executive's
employment immediately for "Cause" if, in the reasonable determination of the
Board, the Compensation Committee of the Board, or the CEO, as set forth in a
writing setting forth in reasonable detail the reasons for such termination, (i)
the Executive engages in conduct that violates significant policies of the
Company; (ii) the Executive fails to perform the essential functions of her job
(except for a failure resulting from a bona fide illness or incapacity) or fails
to carry out the CEO's or the Board's reasonable directions with respect to
material duties; (iii) the Executive engages in embezzlement or misappropriation
of corporate funds or other acts of fraud, dishonesty or self-dealing, or
commits a felony or any significant violation of any material statutory or
common law duty of loyalty to the Company; or (iv) the Executive breaches a
material provision of this Agreement (including, but not limited to, the
non-compete, non-solicitation, confidentiality, or non-disparagement provisions
in Sections 7 and 8).

          5.   CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT PERIOD.

          (a)  BENEFITS UPON TERMINATION. If the Employment Period terminates
for any reason, the Executive (or the Executive's executor, administrator or
other legal representative, as the case may be) shall be entitled to receive the
following benefits:

          (i)  within 30 days after the amount in question is reasonably
     determinable (1) base salary payable through the date of termination of
     employment, (2) unpaid annual incentive compensation for the calendar year
     immediately preceding the date of such termination (unless such termination
     is for Cause, as defined in Section 4(b) above), and (3) reimbursement of
     proper expenses incurred through the date of such termination; and

          (ii) participation (by the Executive or the Executive's qualified
     dependents, as the case may be) in all other applicable benefit plans or
     programs in accordance with the provisions thereof applicable to terminated
     employees (or their qualified dependents, as the case may be).

          (b)  ADDITIONAL BENEFITS UPON QUALIFYING TERMINATION. If the
Employment Period terminates after the occurrence of a Qualifying Termination
(as defined in Section 4(a)), the Executive (or the Executive's executor,
administrator or other legal representative, as the case may be) shall be
entitled to receive the following additional benefits:

                                     - 3 -
<PAGE>

          (i)  within 30 days after the amount in question is reasonably
     determinable, annual incentive compensation for the calendar year in which
     such termination shall have occurred, prorated through the date of such
     termination based on actual results of operations for such full calendar
     year; and

          (ii) if the Qualifying Termination is for any reason other than death
     or Disability:

          (1)  all stock options and restricted stock granted to the Executive
               by the Company on or after the Effective Date then held by the
               Executive shall on the date of such termination be 100% vested;

          (2)  subject to the last sentence of this Section 5(b), for a period
               of 24 months commencing on the day immediately following the date
               of termination of the employment of the Executive (the "Severance
               Period"), the Executive shall be entitled to receive (A) base
               salary, at the rate payable as of the date of such termination,
               payable in accordance with the Company's normal payroll policies
               and (B) annual incentive compensation at the rate of 50% of base
               salary; and

          (3)  subject to the last sentence of this Section 5(b), during the
               Severance Period, the Executive shall be entitled to participate
               in life insurance, medical and dental benefits on terms no less
               favorable than on the termination date, subject to legal
               restrictions and to modifications of general application to all
               similarly situated employees; and

          (iii) each stock option granted to the Executive by the Company on or
     after the Effective Date then held by the Executive shall be exercisable to
     the extent it is vested at the date of termination by the Executive or the
     Executive's executor, administrator or other legal representative, as the
     case may be, for up to three years after the date of termination, but in no
     case beyond a date 10 years following the date of grant of such option.

As a condition to the receipt of the severance benefits described in
subparagraphs (ii)(2) and (ii)(3) above, the Company reserves the right in
accordance with the standard Company severance policy to require the Executive
to sign a standard separation agreement, containing a general release of claims.

          (c)  TERMINATION AFTER A CHANGE IN CONTROL. If the Executive incurs a
Qualifying Termination (other than a Qualifying Termination due to death or
Disability) within two years of the occurrence of a "Change in Control" under
and as defined in the Company's Asset Protection Plan (or a similar replacement
plan providing severance benefits to Company employees after a change in
control), then (i) the benefits payable to the Executive pursuant to Section
5(b)(ii)(2) above upon such Qualifying Termination, if any, shall be paid to the

                                     - 4 -
<PAGE>

Executive in one lump sum within 60 days of such Qualifying Termination, (ii)
the benefits payable to the Executive pursuant to Section 5(b)(i) upon such
Qualifying Termination, if any, shall be paid to the Executive in one lump sum
within 30 days after the amount in question is reasonably determinable, and
(iii) the restrictions of Section 7(a)(i) shall not apply during the Severance
Period. If mutually agreed upon between the Executive and the Company, these
lump-sum payments shall be reduced to the extent necessary to maximize the total
after-tax benefit to the Executive, after taking into account all applicable
local, state, and federal income and excise taxes, including any applicable
excise tax imposed under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.

          6.   FEDERAL AND STATE WITHHOLDING. The Company shall deduct from the
amounts payable to the Executive pursuant to this Agreement the amount of all
required federal and state withholding taxes in accordance with the Executive's
Form W-4 on file with the Company and all applicable social security and
Medicare taxes.

          7.   NONCOMPETITION; NONSOLICITATION; CONFIDENTIALITY.

          (a)  COVENANT NOT TO COMPETE. The Executive acknowledges that in the
course of employment with the Company pursuant to this Agreement, the Executive
will become familiar with the Confidential Information (as defined below) of the
Company and its subsidiaries, affiliates and clients, and that the Executive's
services will be of special, unique and extraordinary value to the Company.
Except with the prior written consent of the Board (and subject to the last
sentence of this Section 7(a)):

          (i)  during the Employment Period and any Severance Period the
     Executive shall not engage in any activities, whether as employer,
     proprietor, principal, partner, stockholder (other than the holder of 1% or
     less of the stock of a corporation the securities of which are traded on a
     securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market), director, officer,
     employee or otherwise, in competition with (A) the businesses conducted at
     the date hereof by the True North Group or (B) any business in which the
     True North Group is substantially engaged in or proposed to be engaged in
     within the one year period preceding the termination of Executive's
     employment with the Company; and

          (ii) during the Employment Period (including the remainder of the then
     current three-year term of the Employment Period following the Executive's
     resignation or termination for "Cause") and any Severance Period the
     Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, either on the Executive's
     behalf or on behalf of any other person, firm or corporation:

          (A)  solicit, call on, service or otherwise do business with, or
               interfere in any way with the Company's relationship with any
               account that is a client of the True North Group at the time of
               the Executive's termination, or that was a client of the True
               North Group at any time within 12 months prior to the date of
               such termination; provided that the foregoing shall apply only to
               accounts with whom the Executive had responsibilities for or
               learned

                                     - 5 -
<PAGE>

               Confidential Information relating to within the one-year period
               preceding the Executive's termination of employment with the
               Company;

          (B)  perform any services for any account described in (A) above; or

          (C)  recruit or solicit, or attempt to recruit or solicit, the
               employment or consulting services of or hire or employ or retain
               the employment or consulting services of any person who is at
               such time or who was at any time within 12 months immediately
               prior to such time, an employee of the True North Group.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions of Section 7(a)(i) and
7(a)(ii)(A-B) shall not apply to the Executive's practice of law following the
Employment Period.

          (b)  CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND TRADE SECRETS. The Executive agrees
that the Company has a protectable interest in Company bidding information,
trade secrets, client information, computer programs, financial information and
other confidential information (collectively, the "Confidential Information").
The Executive shall not, at any time during the Employment Period (except for
the benefit of the Company within the scope of the Executive's duties) or
thereafter, make use of any nor divulge any Confidential Information, except to
the extent that such Confidential Information becomes a matter of public record,
is published in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical available to the
general public (other than as a result of disclosure by the Executive) or as the
Company may so authorize in writing; and when the Executive shall cease to be
employed by the Company, the Executive shall surrender to the Company all
Confidential Information and records and other documents obtained by her or
entrusted to the Executive during the course of the Executive's employment
hereunder (together with all copies thereof) which pertain specifically to any
of the businesses covered by the covenants in Section 7(a)(i) or which were paid
for by the Company; provided, however, that the Executive may retain copies of
such documents as necessary for the Executive's personal records for federal
income tax purposes. The Executive also agrees that the Executive will not at
any time (whether before or after the termination of the Executive's employment
with the Company) disclose to anyone the economic terms of this Agreement,
except to the Executive's counsel, accountants and members of the Executive's
immediate family.

          (c)  SCOPE OF COVENANTS; REMEDIES. The following provisions shall
apply to the covenants of the Executive contained in this Section:

          (i)  the covenants set forth in Sections 7(a)(i) and 7(a)(ii) shall
     apply within all territories in which the True North Group is actively
     engaged in the conduct of business during the Employment Period, including,
     without limitation, the territories in which customers are then being
     solicited;

          (ii) the Executive expressly agrees and acknowledges that the
     covenants contained in Sections 7(a) and 7(b) are reasonable in all
     respects (including subject matter, time period and geography) and
     necessary because of the substantial and

                                     - 6 -
<PAGE>

     irreparable harm that would be caused to the Company by the Executive
     engaging in any of the prohibited activities contained in such Sections.
     The Executive expressly agrees and acknowledges that the covenants
     contained in this Agreement will not preclude the Executive from earning a
     livelihood, nor unreasonably limit the Executive's ability to earn a
     living, since the Executive has the ability and experience to engage in
     employment that will not breach or violate the covenants contained in this
     Agreement. Each party intends and agrees that if in any action before any
     court or agency legally empowered to enforce the covenants contained in
     Sections 7(a) and 7(b) any term, restriction, covenant or promise contained
     therein is found to be unreasonable and accordingly unenforceable, then
     such term, restriction, covenant or promise shall be deemed modified to the
     extent necessary to make it enforceable by such court or agency; and

          (iii) the covenants contained in Sections 7(a) and 7(b) shall survive
     the conclusion of the Executive's employment by the Company.

          8.   NONDISPARAGEMENT; COOPERATION. (a) The Executive shall not, at
any time during her employment with the Company or thereafter, make any public
or private statement to the news media, to any True North Group competitor or
client, or to any other individual or entity, if such statement would disparage
any of the True North Group, any of their respective businesses or any director
or officer of any of them or such businesses or would have a deleterious effect
upon the interests of any of such businesses or the stockholders or other owners
of any of them; provided, however, that the Executive shall not be in breach of
this restriction if such statements consist solely of (i) private statements
made to any officers, directors or employees of any of the True North Group by
the Executive in the course of carrying out her duties pursuant to this
Agreement or, to the extent applicable, her duties as a director or officer, or
(ii) private statements made to persons other than clients or competitors of any
of the True North Group (or their representatives) or members of the press or
the financial community that do not have a material adverse effect upon any of
the True North Group; and provided further that nothing contained in this
Section 8(a) or in any other provision of this Agreement shall preclude the
Executive from making any statement in good faith that is required by law,
regulation or order of any court or regulatory commission, department or agency.

          (b)  The Company shall not, at any time during the Executive's
employment with the Company or thereafter, authorize any person to make, nor
shall the Company condone the making of, any statement, publicly or privately,
which would disparage the Executive; provided, however, that the Company shall
not be in breach of this restriction if such statements consist solely of (i)
private statements made to any officers, directors or employees of the True
North Group or (ii) private statements made to persons other than clients or
competitors of any of the True North Group (or their representatives) or members
of the press or the financial community that do not have a material adverse
effect upon the Executive; and provided further that nothing contained in this
Section 8(b) or in any other provision of this Agreement shall preclude any
officer, director, employee, agent or other representative of any of the True
North Group from making any statement in good faith which is required by any
law, regulation or order of any court or regulatory commission, department or
agency.

                                     - 7 -
<PAGE>

          9.   ENFORCEMENT. The parties hereto agree that the Company would be
damaged irreparably in the event that any provision of Section 7 or 8 of this
Agreement were not performed in accordance with its terms or were otherwise
breached and that money damages would be an inadequate remedy for any such
nonperformance or breach. Accordingly, the Company and its successors or
permitted assigns shall be entitled, in addition to other rights and remedies
existing in their favor, to an injunction or injunctions to prevent any breach
or threatened breach of any of such provisions and to enforce such provisions
specifically (without posting a bond or other security). Each of the parties
agrees that she or it will submit herself or itself to the personal jurisdiction
of the courts of the State of Illinois in any action by the other party to
enforce an arbitration award against her or it or to obtain interim injunctive
or other relief pending an arbitration decision.

          10.  SURVIVAL. Sections 7, 8 and 9 of this Agreement shall survive and
continue in full force and effect in accordance with their respective terms,
notwithstanding any termination or expiration of the Employment Period.

          11.  ARBITRATION. Any dispute or controversy between the Company and
the Executive, whether arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the breach
of this Agreement, or otherwise, shall be settled by arbitration administered by
the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in accordance with its Commercial
Rules then in effect and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be
entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Any arbitration shall be held
before a single arbitrator who shall be selected by mutual agreement of the
Company and the Executive, unless the parties are unable to agree to an
arbitrator, in which case the arbitrator will be selected under the procedures
of the AAA. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award any remedy or
relief that a court of competent jurisdiction could order or grant, including,
without limitation, the issuance of an injunction. However, the Company may, at
its option without inconsistency with this arbitration provision, apply to any
court having jurisdiction over such dispute or controversy for the purpose of
seeking injunctive or other equitable relief to enforce Sections 7, 8 and 9 of
this Agreement. Except as necessary in court proceedings to enforce this
arbitration provision or an award rendered hereunder, or to obtain interim
relief, neither a party nor an arbitrator may disclose the existence, content or
results of any arbitration hereunder without the prior written consent of the
Company and the Executive. The Company and the Executive acknowledge that this
Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce. Notwithstanding
any choice of law provision included in this Agreement, the United States
Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation and enforcement of this
arbitration provision.

          12.  NOTICE. All notices and other communications required or
permitted hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly
given when personally delivered or five days after deposit in the United States
mail, certified and return receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed (a) if
to the Executive, to the most recent address then shown on the employment
records of the Company, and if to the Company, to True North Communications
Inc., 101 East Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2897, Attention: Chief
Financial Officer, or (b) to such other address as either party may have
furnished to the other in

                                     - 8 -
<PAGE>

writing in accordance herewith, except that notices of change of address shall
be effective only upon receipt.

          13.  SEVERABILITY. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement
shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under
applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is determined to be
invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under applicable law or rule in
any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not
affect the validity, legality or enforceability of any other provision of this
Agreement or the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision in any
other jurisdiction, but this Agreement shall be reformed, construed and enforced
in such jurisdiction as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had
never been contained herein.

          14.  ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement
and understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof
and supersedes and preempts any prior understandings, agreements or
representations by or between the parties, written or oral, which may have
related in any manner to the subject matter hereof.

          15.  SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. This Agreement shall be enforceable by
the Executive and the Executive's heirs, executors, administrators and legal
representatives, and by the Company and its successors and permitted assigns.
Any successor or permitted assign of the Company shall assume by instrument
delivered to the Executive the liabilities of the Company hereunder. This
Agreement shall not be assigned by the Company other than to a successor
pursuant to a merger, consolidation or transfer of all or substantially all of
the capital stock or assets of the Company.

          16.  GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed
and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Illinois
without regard to principles of conflict of laws.

          17.  AMENDMENT AND WAIVER. The provisions of this Agreement may be
amended or waived only by the written agreement of the Company and the
Executive, and no course of conduct or failure or delay in enforcing the
provisions of this Agreement shall affect the validity, binding effect or
enforceability of this Agreement.

          18.  COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in two counterparts,
each of which shall be deemed to be an original and both of which together shall
constitute one and the same instrument.

                                     - 9 -
<PAGE>

          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as
of the date first above written.

                              TRUE NORTH COMMUNICATIONS INC.

                              By: /s/ Marilyn R. Seymann
                                  ----------------------------------------
                                   Marilyn R. Seymann,
                                   Chairman of the Compensation
                                   Committee of the Board of Directors

                              By: /s/ David A. Bell
                                  ----------------------------------------
                                   David A. Bell,
                                   Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

                              EXECUTIVE

                                   /s/ Suzanne S. Bettman
                              --------------------------------------------
                                   Suzanne S. Bettman

                                     - 10 -

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