DIAGEO North America enhances ethics, legal and compliance education for 2,000 employees

STAMFORD, CT — November 17, 2004 — Diageo North America, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Diageo plc, the world's leading premium drinks company, announced today that it has enhanced its ethics, legal and compliance education program by providing over 2,000 Diageo North America employees with a new online education initiative called "e-theBest Ethics and Compliance Center".

"Diageo strives to maintain the highest standards of integrity and social responsibility throughout its business dealings," said Sabine Chalmers, General Counsel for Diageo North America. "From having the most stringent marketing and advertising code in the alcohol beverage industry, to working to ensure our employees conduct all their business responsibly with a commitment to the letter and spirit of legal and ethical business practices, Diageo strives to be a leader in this area. We believe our new 'e-theBest' center will truly help our employees 'Be the Best' — a key Diageo corporate value."

The "e-theBest Ethics and Compliance Center", developed with LRN, provides employees with 24/7 access to company codes and policies and seven separate courses, including custom courses covering Diageo's Code of Business Conduct and its proprietary alcohol beverage trade practice standards. Diageo North America joins a community of leading companies including Disney, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Raytheon and a growing number of the Fortune 500 who have embraced the flagship LRN education, communication and culture-building solution.

The program enables employees to deal with real-life ethical dilemmas in a virtual environment, helping them learn to identify, evaluate and resolve legal and compliance risks. Workers become adept at navigating the gray areas that inevitably arise in the course of business. Diageo believes that, over time, better decisions, more appropriate actions and higher standards of employee conduct help build and reinforce corporate reputation. Custom courses were developed in collaboration with LRN, who as site host will streamline program implementation and administration.

About Diageo
Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com.