New Virtual World, Journeys, Gets $600K Loan

Journeys, an Israeli company involved in the MMOG arena, announced last week that it had secured a $600,000 convertible loan from Elron Electronic Industries, the first investment Elron has made in an Internet company. Journeys describes its project as a "casual, social MMO" designed "to bring the entire "virtual world" concept to larger audiences." Although most information about the project is still under wraps, co-founder Guy Bendov told VirtualWorldsNews.com that he "Hope[s] (the word hope is a big thing) to be out by mid 08."

Press release below:

Field of Internet and Cellular Through an Initial Investment in       Journeys, a Massive Multiplayer On-Line Gaming (MMOG) Venture

TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (TASE & NASDAQ: ELRN), announced       today that it has made its first investment in the internet and       cellular field by providing a convertible loan of $600,000 to Journeys       Ltd., an Israeli company which is in the Massive Multiplayer On-line       Gaming (MMOG) arena. Journeys is engaged in the development of a casual       internet multiplayer game appealing to a wide audience.    

Journeys was established earlier this year by three Israeli entrepreneurs, Guy Bendov, one of the founders of Double Fusion specializing in in-game advertising, Sharon Priel, former Vice President of Technology of The Marker, a leading Israeli financial online and print publication and Assaf Priel, one of the founders of Inkod-Hypera, a well-known Israeli visual concept house.

      Assaf Topaz, Vice President of Elron said: "The Journeys team is       creative with significant technological experience and a proven track       record. Journeys is developing the next generation of computer games       integrating a unique game experience with advanced abilities in creating       social networking. The combination of this winning team and the unique       product they are developing is expected to make this company one of the       major players in this field. "    

      Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (TASE & NASDAQ: ELRN), a member       of the IDB Holding group, is a leading Israel-based technology holding       company directly involved in the long-term performance of its group       companies. Elron identifies potential technologies, creates strategic       partnerships, secures financing, and recruits highly qualified       management teams. Elron's group companies currently comprise a diverse       range of publicly-traded and privately held companies primarily in the       fields of medical devices, information & communications technology,       clean technology and semiconductors. For further information, please       visit www.elron.com   

   

(Any statements in this press release that may be considered       forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that       could cause actual results to differ materially. Actual results may       differ from such forward-looking statements due to the risk factors       discussed in periodic reports filed by the Company with the Securities       and Exchange Commission, which the Company urges investors to consider).