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                                                               Exhibit (a)(5)(A)

       GLOBALNET FINANCIAL.COM, INC. RECEIVES OFFER FROM AISOFTW@RE S.P.A.


London England; Boca Raton, Fla. August 7, 2001 - GlobalNet Financial.com, Inc.
(the "Company") (NASDAQ:GLBN; LSE:GLFA) announced today it has received an
unsolicited offer from AISoftw@re S.p.A. ("AISoftw@re").

AISoftw@re proposes to acquire each outstanding share of the Company in a stock
for stock exchange pursuant to which holders of Company common stock would
receive ordinary shares of AISoftw@re valued at $0.55 per share and holders of
Company Class A common stock would receive ordinary shares of AISoftw@re valued
at $0.055 per share. AISoftw@re shares are traded on Nasdaq Europe in Brussels
and the Nuovo Mercato in Milan, Italy.

The proposal is subject to certain significant contingencies, such as
AISoftw@re's completion of due diligence, the execution of a definitive merger
agreement and the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Company and
AISoftw@re have entered into a non-disclosure agreement today in order to
facilitate discussions between the parties. Additionally, pursuant to the
non-disclosure agreement, AISoftw@re has agreed that if it does not enter into a
definitive merger agreement with the Company by August 15, 2001, it will tender
all Company shares owned by it or its affiliates into the tender offer currently
outstanding by GlobalNet Acquisitions Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of New
Media SPARK, plc.

Notwithstanding the execution of the non-disclosure agreement with AISoftw@re or
any discussions that may take place between AISOftw@re and the Company, the
Company's merger agreement with New Media SPARK, plc remains in full force and
effect. Accordingly, the Company's Board of Directors has not withdrawn its
recommendation and support of the tender offer currently outstanding by
GlobalNet Acquisitions Inc. and it reiterates its recommendation that Company
shareholders tender their shares into the offer. Pursuant to the tender offer
currently outstanding, holders of Company common shares and Class A common
shares would receive $0.36 and $0.036 per share, respectively, in cash. The
tender offer is scheduled to expire on August 22, 2001.

An offer by AISoftw@re would require filing documents, with a resultant
significant delay in closing, by comparison to the New Media SPARK cash offer.
The offer by AISoftw@re would offer consideration in the form of securities
which are currently listed only on the Nuovo Mercato in Milan, Italy and the
Nasdaq Europe in Brussels.

This release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the
safe-harbor provisions of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995.
Expressions of


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future goals and similar expressions reflecting something other than historical
fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are out of the
control of the Company. Accordingly, the Company's actual results could differ
materially from those discussed in this release. A wide variety of factors could
cause or contribute to such differences and could adversely impact revenues,
profitability, cash flows and capital needs. A more compete listing of
cautionary statements and risk factors is contained in the company's report
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no
obligations to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to
reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.