The service is scheduled to start Nov. 27 for the 14,000 post offices Poste Italiane operates across the country. In addition, UPS is finalizing details to utilize the Poste Italiane network for its own pickup and final delivery in certain extended areas of Italy.

The contract was announced today by Wolfgang Flick, president, UPS Europe, and Massimo Sarmi, CEO, Poste Italiane, during a joint press conference in Rome. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"This venture with Poste Italiane is part of UPS's strategy to make it easier for shippers everywhere to access the global marketplace," said Flick. "Now, businesses in Italy can reliably get their goods to places in the world, such as Asia, where a growing middle class is hungry for Italy's quality products and top brands."

The UPS strategy calls for the creation of new growth opportunities for the company by forging alliances and partnerships around the world, including with national postal services. This year, UPS is celebrating 30 years of service in Europe, where it has enjoyed nine consecutive years of export growth.

"This agreement with UPS will help us offer even better service and reliability to businesses across Italy," said Sarmi. "In addition, this deal will make us even more competitive and appealing to customers doing business over the Internet by better supporting their needs as they seek to sell more of their products abroad."

This partnership with UPS is part of Poste Italiane's strategy aimed at strengthening its position in the express courier domestic market. In addition, a more competitive and reliable service in the international segment offers great growth opportunities for the group and this is an important step in further improving the very positive results Poste Italiane has achieved to date. In the first six months of 2006, the group achieved a EBIT of 811 million € (+43.6% vs 2005) with a Net Result of 379 million € (+72.6% vs 2005).

In addition to its core postal services, the Poste Italiane Group offers communication, logistic and financial services across Italy. The group includes SDA express mail and logistics services; Mototaxi city bike couriers; Postecom internet services; Postel hybrid electronic mail and document processing, and PosteVita and BancoPosta Fondi life insurance and investment solutions.

UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS's stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS),