(NEW YORK, NY) -- Two of the nation's leading forces in lesbian and gay healthcare, Dr. Stephen E. Goldstone and Dr. Susan C. Ball, announced today the April 15, 2000 launch of GayHealth.com(TM). GayHealth.com is the first worldwide source of health and wellness information for the gay community founded and operated by lesbian and gay medical professionals.

GayHealth.com will serve the healthcare needs of the lesbian and gay community worldwide by answering an unmet need for a confidential resource on sensitive yet critical issues of physical and emotional health. The full-featured website will provide breaking health and medical news, original features and columns, Q & A's with noted experts, topical community forums and a searchable healthcare resource database. It will also allow visitors to purchase healthcare products discreetly.

GayHealth.com was created by a team of gay doctors, Web technologists and media and market research professionals with decades of experience in their respective fields. Steven E. Goldstone, MD, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and author of the best selling Dell book ``The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex,'' will host the site with Susan Ball, MD, MPH, Assistant Director of the Center for Special Studies, Bernbaum Unit, HIV Care Center, at New York Presbyterian Hospital and a regular columnist for ``The AIDS Reader.'' Nearly a year in planning, the GayHealth.com founders have assembled a knowledgeable team to cover gay health issues with the best ``webside manner.''

``Our goal at GayHealth.com is to create a place where people can easily find answers to medical questions they've never been able to ask their doctors,'' said Dr. Goldstone.

``No matter what gender, no matter what color, no matter what age, GayHealth.com will speak to our entire community not as outsiders, but as brothers and sisters who are skilled professionals,'' added Dr. Ball.

Bolstered by a March 2000 survey that shows lesbians and gay men have a significant need for trustworthy medical information, GayHealth.com's founders will publish high-quality healthcare information for gays and lesbians both ``in'' and ``out-of-the-closet.'' Men and women uncomfortable with talking about their sexual orientation with their primary care physician can connect to GayHealth.com to have their vital healthcare concerns addressed in a non-judgmental and completely confidential environment. All of the site's features are ``opt-in,'' emails sent to customers will have a nondescript return address so as not to compromise privacy, and no user identification information will be shared with third parties.

This week, GayHealth.com awarded its $5-million advertising account to The Ad Store. Wilson Media Group, Inc. will manage all media planning and buying. Silicon Alley-based Web engineering company Mediapolis, inc. will develop the site. The solid grounding in all the necessary aspects of the venture will ensure GayHealth.com's successful launch and continued success.

GayHealth.com was founded in 1999 by the nation's top lesbian and gay medical professionals to serve the healthcare needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities worldwide.