AU2008229681B2

AU2008229681B2 - Information display system

Info

Publication number: AU2008229681B2
Application number: AU2008229681A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Grant Dixon
Original assignee: GO DIRECT CORP Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Go Direct Corp Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2007-09-26
Filing date: 2008-09-26
Publication date: 2015-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2028-09-26
Also published as: AU2008100953B4; AU2015100938A4; AU2008229681A1; AU2008100953A4

Abstract

Abstract An apparatus and method for displaying information to a user viewing a portion of an electronic map from a user viewpoint. The user viewpoint is moveable to change the portion of the electronic map displayed to the user. At least one information provider is 5 registered with a three-dimensional space defined by an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude. If the user viewpoint is contained within the three-dimensional space, information associated with the information provider registered with that three dimensional space is displayed. User Device t6 Internet -+ Search system Map System V detsn Figure 1

Description

P/00/01Il Regulatio 3.2 AuSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: Information display system The following statement is a full description of this Invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 2 Information display system Field of the invention The present invention relates to an information display system. The present invention is particularly useful for displaying advertising information however is not limited to that 5 particular application. Background of the invention In recent years the Internet has become an all but indispensable tool for people wishing to find information regarding, for example, places, people, businesses, events, products or services. 10 To allow people to search for such information various search engines are provided. These search engines can be used to search broadly over most information publicly available on the Internet (such as the Google TM search engine), or to search specific sub-sets of information on the Internet (for example the White PagesTM or Yellow PagesTM search engines). As well as allowing people to search for information, these 15 search engines also allow for information providers (e.g. an advertiser) to pay for information to be shown to people using those search engines. Accordingly, when a user searches for information on such a system they are generally presented with a list of search results (i.e. information matching the criteria the user has searched for) along with other information as provided by the information providers. For 20 the user the presentation of the combination of the results of their search and additional information can often cause confusion. At the same time, the ability for an information provider to customise where, when and to whom their additional information is shown is extremely limited. It would be advantageous to provide an information display system that provides greater 25 flexibility for information providers to stipulate when their information is shown to a user.

3 Summary of the invention In one aspect the present invention provides a method for displaying advertising to a user viewing a portion of an electronic map from a user viewpoint, the user viewpoint movable to change the portion of the electronic map displayed to the user, the method 5 including the steps of: registering at least one advertiser with a three-dimensional advertising space defined by an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude, and if the user viewpoint is contained within the three-dimensional advertising space, 10 displaying advertising information associated with the advertiser registered with that three-dimensional advertising space. The three-dimensional advertising space may be a cube. Advantageously, the user viewpoint may also be movable in a three dimensional space. 15 . the advertising space boundary is further defined by a north coordinate, a south coordinate, an east coordinate and a west coordinate. The three-dimensional advertising space may be one of a plurality of three-dimensional advertising spaces, and other advertising information may be associated with an advertiser registered with another one of the plurality of three-dimensional advertising 20 spaces, wherein if the user viewpoint is moved to the other one of the plurality of three dimensional advertising spaces, the other advertising information is displayed. Registering the at least one advertiser with a three dimensional advertising space may further include associating the at least one advertiser with one or more search criteria, and the advertising information of the advertiser may be shown to the user if the user 25 viewpoint is located in the three-dimensional space registered by the advertiser and the 4 user has provided search criteria corresponding to the search criteria associated with the advertiser in respect of that three-dimensional space. In a second aspect the present invention relates to a user interface adapted to display search results satisfying a search query specified by a user, including at least one a 5 geographical search criterion, the user interface including a map interface and a plurality of information panes, wherein the search results are displayed as locations on a map image displayed in the map interface, the map image showing a geographical region determined from the at least one geographical search criterion specified by the user, 10 if the number of search results is equal to or greater than the number of information panes, each information pane displaying information relating to one of the search results, and if the number of search results is less than the number of information panes, at least one information pane displaying information relating to a search result independent of at 15 least one of the search criteria. Advantageously, . the geographical search criterion may be altered by the user interacting with the map image in one or more of the following ways: zooming in, zooming out, panning the map in any direction 20 . if the geographical search criterion is/are altered, the information panes and map are populated with new search results fulfilling those criteria . each information pane is provided with an information pane identifier and each search result displayed on the map image is provided with an search result identifier, and the information relating to a particular search result is displayed in 25 the information pane with the corresponding search result identifier 5 - the information pane identifier and search result identifier are numbers - the search result identifiers are numbered in ascending order according to the geographic distance of the search result from the centre of the geographical region 5 . if the geographical search criteria is altered the search results are renumbered according to the new centre of the geographical region . if the search results exceed the number of information panes available the excess search results may be displayed by a marker on the map which, if interacted with, causes the full details of the search result to be displayed 10 . if the user activates a marker displayed on the map the map may be centred on the marker. In a third aspect the present invention relates to a method for displaying search and advertising information to a user, the method including the steps of receiving search criteria from a user, displaying one or more search results satisfying the search criteria 15 on a map, displaying a plurality of information panes, wherein at least one information pane displays information relating to a search result, and if the number of search results is less than the number of information panes, displaying on at least one information pane information relating to a search result independent of at least one of the search criteria. 20 In a further aspect the present invention provides a method for displaying information to a user viewing a portion of an electronic map from a user viewpoint, the user viewpoint movable to change the portion of the electronic map displayed to the user, the method including the steps of: registering at least one information provider with a three-dimensional space defined by 25 an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude, and 6 if the user viewpoint is contained within the three-dimensional space, displaying information associated with the information provider registered with that three dimensional space. In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method for assigning an advertiser 5 with advertising rights in a virtual space, the virtual space viewable by a user from a user viewpoint moveable within the virtual space, the method including assigning to the advertiser a three-dimensional space defined by an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude, the three-dimensional space being a sub-set of the virtual space, and wherein, in use, if 10 the user viewpoint is located in the three-dimensional space advertising information of the advertiser is shown to the user. The method for assigning an advertiser with advertiser rights may further include assigning to the advertiser search criteria in respect of the three-dimensional space, and wherein, in use, the advertising information of the advertiser is shown to the user if 15 the user viewpoint is located in the three-dimensional space assigned to the advertiser and the user has provided search criteria corresponding to the search criteria assigned to the advertiser in respect of that three-dimensional space. The invention also broadly resides in apparatus to implement the methods described above, in instructions executable by a data processing device to implement the methods 20 and in such instructions when stored in a storage medium readable by the data processing device. Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the system. It is to be understood, however, that the 25 invention is not limited to the features of the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, in which: 7 Figure 1 provides a high-level representation of system architecture of a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 provides a representation of a user interface in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 5 Figure 3A provides a representation of the map interface of the user interface of figure 2 showing search results from a viewing altitude which provides for a map scale of 300 km; Figure 3B provides a representation of the map interface of the user interface of figure 2 showing search results from a viewing altitude which provides for a map scale of 15 km; 10 Figure 3C provides a representation of the map interface of the user interface of figure 2 showing search results from a viewing altitude which provides for a map scale of 2 km; Figure 3D provides a representation of the map interface of the user interface of figure 2 showing search results from a viewing altitude which provides for a map scale of 100 m; Figure 4 provides a flow chart representing the steps undertaken by an entity wishing to 15 register their details with the search and advertising system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 provides a flow chart representing the steps undertaken by an entity wishing to select and purchase advertising rights; Figure 6A provides a three-dimensional representation of the system map with three 20 dimensional advertising spaces depicted; Figure 6B provides a two-dimensional representation of one method of dividing a virtual three-dimensional space into advertising spaces; and Figure 7 provides a flowchart depicting the steps undertaken by the search system to return search results to a user.

8 Detailed description of the embodiments The invention will be described in relation to a search and advertising system 6. It is noted, however, that the invention may be applied to alternative systems and/or applications, for example systems that display non-advertising information associated 5 with spatial regions. Figure 1 provides a high level representation of one possible system architecture 2 for use with an embodiment of the present invention. A user makes use of a user device 4 which communicates with a search and advertising system 6 through the internet 8. The user device may be any electronic device capable of accessing the internet 8 and 10 displaying web pages, such as a computer, a personal digital assistant, or a mobile phone, or any other electronic device capable of interacting with a GPS or mapping type system. The search and advertising system 6 includes a search system 12, a map system 14, an advertising system 16 and an entity database 18. It will, of course, be appreciated 15 that each of the search system 12, map system 14, advertising system 16 and entity database 18 may reside on a single physical machine or be distributed across several physical machines located in the same or different locations. Turning to figure 2, this embodiment of the system of the present invention will be described by reference to an end user's interaction with the system when undertaking a 20 search. User interface An end user of the system is provided with user interface 100 on their user device 4. The user interface includes two search entry text fields 102 and 104, a general search button 106, a keyword search button 108, a map interface 110, and fifteen information 25 panes 112 to140. In this embodiment the fifteen information panes are separated into ten 'floating' information panes 122-140, and five 'dedicated' information panes 112 120. The function of these information panes is described below.

9 Text field 102 allows a user to enter keywords describing the information they are searching for, and is advantageously accompanied by an appropriate label to indicate this function to the user. This keyword information may relate, for example, to: & a type of business - e.g. hardware, cafe, accountant etc 5 - a specific business - e.g. K-Mart

TM

, StarbucksTM, Bunning T M etc . a type of place - e.g. parks, playgrounds, cycle tracks etc . a type of event - e.g. markets, sporting events etc Text field 104 allows a user to enter geographical information describing the area in which they wish to search, and is advantageously provided with an appropriate label 10 indicating this function to the user. This geographical information may be, for example, the specification of: . one or more location names (e.g. a continent name, a country name, a region name, a city name, a street name etc) - a postcode or zipcode or similar identifying number 15 . latitude and longitude coordinates . any other means by which a geographical region may be defined and which is supported by the search system 12 By entering data in text fields 102 and 104, therefore, a user can specify what they are looking for and in what region or area they are looking; for example hardware stores in 20 Canberra, or K-MartTM stores in Sydney. The search results Once the search criteria have been entered the user initiates the search by selecting either the general search button 106 or keyword search button 108. This sends the criteria to the search and advertising system 6 to be processed. The search and 25 advertising system 6 conducts the search (as discussed below) and returns a set of user search results which includes entities from the entity database 18 that satisfy the 10 search criteria selected by the user. The entities in the set of user search results are ordered, for example by ascending numbers, according to the distance of the entity from the centre of the geographical region specified by the user. Accordingly, entities with locations closer to the centre of the region specified by the user will be ascribed 5 lower numbers than those entities which are located further from the centre of that region. If required for processing and/or speed (bearing in mind that this information will, in the preferred embodiment, be viewed and sent over the internet), a limitation may be placed on the total number of search results processed and displayed on the user 10 interface 100. For example, the search and advertising system 6 may limit any search to returning the fifty entities which are closest to the centre of the search region specified by the user. The set of user search results returned from the search and advertising system 6 are then displayed in the map interface 110. The map interface 110 provides a 15 representation of a map 202 which includes at least a portion of the geographical region specified by the user in text field 104. This map is viewed by the user from a user viewpoint (such as, for example a virtual-earth type camera) which, as discussed below, may be changed by the user. As will be appreciated, the map representation 202 displayed at any given time need only be a portion of the entire map used by the 20 search and advertising system 6. In addition to the map representation 202 the map interface 110 also includes map controls (discussed below) which allow the user to change their user viewpoint and, consequently, the area displayed in the map interface 110. The map information includes information regarding the properties of the map representation displayed, for 25 example the scale 206 of the map. Other information that may be displayed includes the viewing altitude (which is linked to the scale of the map), directional/orientation information, and/or information indicating the geographical boundaries of the map representation presently being viewed by the user.

11 The altitude of the user's viewpoint (and hence scale 206 of the map representation displayed) is determined initially by the search system according to the size of the geographical area searched by the user. For example (and as discussed in further detail below) if user conducts a search for entities in a country (e.g. a search in 5 Australia) the view altitude will be set relatively high to provide a relatively large scale map representation (e.g. figure 3A). Alternatively, if a user conducts a search for entities at in a particular city street (e.g. a search for entities in Pitt Street in Sydney) the view altitude will be initialised to a relatively low height and hence small scale map representation (e.g. figure 3D). Further, the user's viewpoint is initialised to be at the 10 approximate centre of the geographical region specified by the user in the search (and hence the portion of the map shown to the user is also centred on the approximate centre of the geographical region specified by the user). As shown in figures 3A to 3D, (and noted above) each of the entities shown on the map is marked with a number. The number comprises a marker 203 positioned at the 15 location corresponding to the actual location of the entity as registered with the system. Each marker 203 includes, in this instance, a number representing the proximity of the entity to the centre of the search area (as discussed above). The marker 201 may also include a cross reference to a particular information pane 122 - 140 (if, in fact, the entity is associated with such an information pane). 20 A user may interact with a particular marker 203 by holding the mouse cursor over the marker 203, in which case the details of the entity (or a summarised form thereof) will be displayed in a floating text box or similar). A user may also interact with a particular marker 203 by clicking or double clicking on it, causing the map to centre on that particular marker 203 (which will have the effect of changing the search results and 25 information displayed in the information panes as discussed below). In this way a user may view the details of all entities displayed on the map. As discussed below, this may include entities that do not meet the user's search criteria but that have registered appropriate advertising rights.

12 The information panes In addition to being displayed as a location on the map representation 202, information associated with the ten entities from the search result set that are closest to the centre of the search area (i.e. those entities numbered one to ten) is also displayed on the ten 5 floating information panes 122 - 140 (these floating information panes also numbered one to ten). In this way the user is clearly shown the entities in the set of user search results that are closest to the region in which they searched as well as information regarding those entities. As will be appreciated, if the number of entities in the set of user search results 10 exceeds 10 not all entities in the search results will have information displayed in an associated floating information pane (though, as described above, each entity will be displayed on the map 202 by a marker 203 via which a user can conveniently view the details of all entities displayed). Conversely, if the number of entities in the set of user search results is less than ten, not all floating information panes 122 - 140 will be 15 populated by entities from the set of user search results and one or more of those floating information panes will be left "free". For example, if only five entities satisfy the search criteria selected by the user the set of user search results will include only those five entities and five floating information panes (e.g. 132 to 140) will be "free". Alternatively, if there are no entities that match 20 the search criteria selected by the user than all ten floating information panes 122-140 will be "free". As discussed in detail below, the floating information panes may alternatively (or additionally) be used for advertising by displaying information associated with entities that do not satisfy the search criteria selected by the user, but which have purchased 25 relevant advertising rights. For example, the floating information panes 122 to 140 may be prioritised to display entities satisfying the user search criteria but, in the event that there are less than ten such entities, may be used to display information of entities that do not satisfy the user's search criteria. Similarly, dedicated information panes 112 to 120 are, in the preferred embodiment, dedicated to displaying advertising information of 13 entities that have selected advertising rights (as discussed below) and do not necessarily show information relating to entities that form part of the set of user search results (it is possible, of course, that advertising entities may incidentally also satisfy one or more of the user search criteria). 5 In one embodiment, any information panes 112 to 140 that display advertising information associated with an entity that does not satisfy one or more of the search criteria (i.e. designated information panes 112 to 120 and any of the floating information panes 122 to 140 that are not populated with information regarding entities from the set of user search results) are clearly distinguished from those information panes that do 10 show information of entities from the set of user search results. This may be done, for example, by providing a differently coloured frame around the information pane or by any other appropriate means. In this way a user can clearly and easily distinguish between those information panes which provide information about entities in the set of user search results (and therefore that satisfy their search criteria), and those that are 15 advertising entities and do not necessarily satisfy their search results. The information panes 112 to 140 can be configured to display information and/or functionality associated with an entity (as discussed below this information and functionality is provided by the entity during the registration process). Such information and functionality may include: 20 . entity name, address, and contact information . a hyperlink, which when clicked leads to the website of the entity . advertising or specials information (or a hyperlink thereto) . video/sound/text/picture/slideshow information (or hyperlinks thereto) . a link or button, which when selected opens an email addressed to the entity 25 . a link or button, which when selected initiates a Voice Over IP (VOIP) call to the entity - a link or button, which when selected launches an. online order form for goods or services provided by the entity 14 - a control, which when selected centres the map on that entity - a control, which when selected highlights the location of the entity on the map While this embodiment has been discussed in relation to a system displaying fifteen information panes located around the outside of the map, with ten floating information 5 panes 122 to 140 prioritised to display search results and five dedicated information panes 112 to 120 dedicated to displaying advertising entities, it would of course be possible to change the total number of information panes, the numbers of information panes prioritised to displaying search results and/or dedicated to advertising, and/or the positioning of the information panes. 10 For example, the map interface 110 may be expanded to occupy a greater proportion of the screen and some or all information panes may be provided on the map interface 110 itself. The information panes may also be moveable by a user (for example by dragging and dropping), and/or may be transient and only displayed (for example) when a user interacts with an entity's marker as displayed on the map. 15 Further, while the above has been described in relation to advertising information being displayed in the information panes, any other type of information may be shown as desired. Map interaction and search refinement As discussed above, once a user has submitted a search, the search and advertising 20 system 6 displays the following: . a map representation 202 within a map interface 110, displaying entities from the set of user search results marked and numbered according to their proximity to the centre of the search region, . between zero (in the case of no search results matching the search criteria) and 25 ten (in the case of ten or more search results matching the search criteria) 15 information panes displaying information about the zero to ten search result entities located closest to the centre of the search region between five (in the case of ten or more search results) and fifteen (in the case of zero search results) information panes showing information about advertising 5 entities that do not necessarily satisfy one or more of the search criteria selected by the user. From this initial display the user can interact with the map interface 110 via map controls to change the altitude and/or location of their viewpoint and, accordingly, refine the geographical region of their search to view larger, smaller, or different portions of 10 the map utilised by the search and advertising system 6. The user can, of course, also specify a new search region by entering text into text field 104 and activating the general search button 106 or keyword search button 108. Referring in particular to figure 2, the map controls provided on the map interface 110 include a zoom in button 150, a zoom out button 152, a road button 154, an aerial 15 button 156 and a hybrid button 158. Additional controls such as a directional pan control may also be provided. One way the user can interact with the map pane 110 is by changing the view altitude of their viewpoint by "zooming" in to or out of the map. Zooming may be achieved by activation of the zoom in button 150 or zoom out button 152, or may be achieved by 20 activation of a mouse scroll wheel or certain designated keyboard keys or other peripheral devices. By zooming into the map (and lowering the view altitude) a smaller region of the total map is shown in greater detail, and by zooming out of the map (and increasing the view altitude) a larger region of the total map is shown in lesser detail. By selecting between the road button 154, aerial button 156 and hybrid button 158, the 25 map representation 202 displayed to the user in the map interface 110 is changed between a road-map representation, an aerial photography representation, and a hybrid representation in which the aerial photography representation is overlaid with road information.

16 For example, figures 3A to 3D provide an example map representation 202 (as displayed in map interface 110), which has been progressively zoomed in on. In figure 3A the view altitude is 200 km and a large area of the Australian countryside is displayed. In figure 3B the view altitude has been lowered to 15 km and the area of 5 countryside reduced to a much smaller geographical area shown in greater detail. In figure 3C the viewing altitude has been lowered again to 2 km, making it possible to see major street names, and in figure 3D the viewing altitude has been further lowered to 100m and the map representation 202 shows a very small area in high detail. In figure 3D it can also be noted that as the search area is so small only two search results 10 (numbered 1 and 2) are displayed. In this situation (and as discussed above), many of the floating information panes are free for use by advertising entities who may not satisfy the specific search criteria set by the user. This is discussed in further detail below. The displayed implementation uses the Virtual Earth TM product provided by Microsoft 15 Corporation, though alternative applications allowing a user to view and move through a virtual three-dimensional space could be used. The user can also interact with the map interface 110 by panning their viewpoint in any direction (e.g. north, south, east, west, north-east, north-west, etc). Panning may be achieved by using a map panning control, clicking and dragging the map representation 20 202 in the desired direction, or by use of certain designated keyboard keys. The user may also or alternatively select to centre their viewpoint on any point shown on the map, for example by clicking a point on the map and selecting to centre their viewpoint on that point. As will be appreciated, by interacting with the map interface 110 to alter the user's 25 viewpoint the portion of the total map displayed to the user in the map interface 110 is also changed. When the user interacts with the map interface 110 the search and advertising system 6 is configured not only to re-display the map representation 202 according to the 17 interaction, but also to recalculate the set of user search results in light of the new region criteria and, re-display the entities in that new set of user search results. For example, if the user clicks and selects a new centre (or, as discussed above, clicks on a marker 203 of a particular entity), the map representation 202 will be re-displayed 5 centred on the location clicked by the user. When the user's viewpoint and centre of the map have changed, so too will the search result entities from the initial search - some entities may no longer appear on the map, and some new entities may now appear. Further, as the search entities are numbered according to their distance from the centre of the map, when the centre of the map changes the search entities are renumbered to 10 reflect this change. The map search radiates out in circles from the centre point. This renumbering in turn requires a repopulation of the floating information panes 122 to 140 to display the information associated with the new ten entities that are closest to the new centre of the map. Finally (and again as discussed in greater detail below), by shifting the view altitude or centre of the map the dedicated information panes 112 to 15 120 (and any other free floating information panes) may be repopulated with information of new advertising entities which have the rights to advertise in the space displayed on the map. Entity registration and setup Entities wishing to be included in the entity database 18 (and therefore be searchable 20 by users of the search and advertising system 6) must register with search and advertising system 6 by undergoing a registration procedure 400, exemplary steps of which are depicted in the flowchart of figure 4. In the preferred embodiment, registration occurs via an entity interface which is available and is completed online, however it would of course be possible to implement an offline registration process (e.g. taking 25 place via face to face interview, telephone call, paper correspondence). A new entity wishing to register with the search and advertising system 6 navigates to an entity interface provided by the search and advertising system 6. The entity interface allows an entity to create an entity account (step 402). This may be done, for example, 18 by entering a desired account name or number and password and submitting these details to the search and advertising system 6. Once these details have been submitted to the search and advertising system 6 an entity account is created and the entity can access this account (step 404) with their account name and password. 5 When a new entity accesses their account (step 404) the entity is able to submit relevant information (step 406) through the entity interface for storage in the entity database 18. Relevant information may include: . the name of the entity . the address of the entity 10 . the contact details of the entity (phone, fax, email) - the web address of the entity * catalogues - slide show presentations . video data 15 - audio data * text data In addition to submitting information to be shown to the end user of the search and advertising system 6 the entity may also enter details for use solely by the search and advertising system 6 such as credit card and/or account details to be used for payment 20 purposes. Once this information has been submitted to the search and advertising system 6 the information is recorded in the entity database 18 (step 408). In addition, the search and advertising system 6 approximates the physical location of the entity by marking an approximated entity location on the search and advertising system's map representation 25 (step 410). The approximated entity location may, for example, be based upon the address details provided by the entity (e.g. street, street number and suburb).

19 The search and advertising system 6 then sends this map representation back to the entity (step 412) to enable the entity to review the automatically assigned location. If the automatically assigned location is incorrect, the entity can elect to update their location by manually marking their location on the map (step 414) and submitting the updated 5 map back to the search and advertising system 6 (step 416). The step of manually marking a new location on the map (step 412) is preferably undertaken with the map zoomed to the lowest view altitude (in order to provide the highest accuracy). Once the entity has updated their location on the map (step 412) and submitted the updated map to the search and advertising system 6 in (step 416) (or simply accepted 10 the automatically approximated location), the search and advertising system 6 records the physical location of the entity (step 418). To do this the search and advertising system 6 stores the location of the entity as latitude and longitude coordinates in the entity database 18 and on the map system 14. While it would, of course, be possible to rely entirely on the automatic assignation of 15 physical location, by providing an entity with the ability to review and update the assignment of their physical location (in steps 410 to 418) any mistakes in such an automated process are largely avoided. In addition to the information submitted above, the entity also submits search information (step 420) relating to the categories and/or keywords which are to be 20 associated with that entity for identification of the entity during a user search (i.e. the categories and/or keywords which if searched for by a user will return that entity as a search result). For example, a builder select keywords and terms relating to the building industry that he or she feels potential customers would search under - e.g. "builder", "renovations", "roofing" etc, and categories that broadly describe their services 25 - e.g. "building services" etc. The categories associated with an entity may also be selected by the entity, or may be selected by the system administrator or similar. The categories may, by way of example, relate to business codes such as SIC and/or ANZSIC codes.

20 As will be appreciated, by allowing entities to self-select their own keywords and/or categories, entities are to an extent able to customise their own marketing (with the limitation discussed below). For example, if a law firm wished to be found by French speaking patrons as well as English speaking patrons they could register both "Lawyer" 5 and "Avocat" as keywords. Alternatively, if an entity hears of an upcoming event to which their products or services may relate they may alter their keywords accordingly for example a bike shop may include the keywords "Tour de France" during the Tour de France bike race. If the system is such that ensuring the relevance of advertisers is paramount, the 10 keywords and/or categories selected by entities may be reviewed and screened by a system administrator or similar (step 422). This would serve to prevent entities selecting keywords and/or categories that are completely inappropriate for that actual entity for the sole reason of mass marketing. Without such screening, for example, a bike shop could register the keywords "coffee", "building", "lawyer", "accountant" etc simply to 15 increase the chance of their details appearing in a user search. For some systems allowing this type of activity could lead to the entity database becoming full of such mismatched data and a user searching for coffee may be shown ten bike shops rather than entities actually relating to coffee. This may, in turn, compromise the value of the system. 20 Finally, and as discussed in more detail below, the entity interface also allows entities to select and purchase advertising rights (step 424) to specific three-dimensional spaces provided by the search and advertising system 6. The entity interface may also be used by entities already registered with the system to update, add, or remove their information, keywords, category information and/or 25 location details. To do this an entity can log in to their account on the entity interface using their login and password, and change their information as desired. Depending on the financial model chosen by the owners of the system, registering entities may be charged a one-off registration fee, a fee based upon the amount of information the entity wishes to be made available to users of the system, a fee based 21 on the number of categories and/or search terms selected by the entity, and/or a fee based on the different altitudes the advertiser registers for. Entities may also or alternatively be charged for any advertising rights selected as discussed below. Advertising registration 5 As noted above, an entity is also able to select and purchase rights to three-dimensional spaces created by the system. If an entity purchases rights to a three-dimensional space in which the viewpoint of a user is partially or wholly located, details of the entity may be shown in information panes 112 to 120 (or any of information panes 122 to 140 which are not populated by search results). Entity details may also be displayed by a 10 user interacting with the marker 203 of the entity. In the below example the advertising example is continued (with the registering entity's being advertisers wishing to use the three-dimensional spaces to provide advertising). Once again it is noted that alternative uses of the system are, of course, possible. Referring to figure 5, a flowchart representing the steps 500 undertaken by an 15 advertiser wishing to select advertising rights (i.e. step 424 of figure 4) is depicted. If an entity elects to select advertising rights (step 424) they are required to provide the advertising area and keywords and/or categories they wish associated with the advertising (step 502). The advertising area may be defined by the advertising entity via co-ordinates, or the search and advertising system 6 may provide the entity with a map 20 that allows the entity to select an area by interaction with the map (e.g. clicking on the blocks desired, as discussed below). The combination of the advertising area and keywords and/or categories determines when an entity's advertising information will be displayed in one of the information panes 112 to 140 and on the map 202. In order for advertising information to be 25 displayed the keywords of the users search must match those selected by the advertising entity, and the viewpoint of the user must fall within the boundaries of the advertising area selected by the advertising entity. The nature of the advertising areas and their boundaries are discussed further below.

22 If desired the advertiser could, of course, be only required to register an advertising area (i.e. absent any keywords/categories). In this case the advertiser's information would be shown to a user based solely on whether the user's viewpoint was located in the advertising area (and regardless of any search criteria). 5 The advertising entity is then offered the choice of whether they wish to select dedicated advertising rights or floating advertising rights (step 504). Dedicated advertising rights are associated with the dedicated information panes 112 to 120. Dedicated advertising rights ensure an entity that their advertising information will be displayed in one of the dedicated advertising panes 112 to 120 regardless of the number of search results in 10 the set of user search results. Floating advertising rights are associated with the floating information panes 122 to 140. Where an entity purchases floating advertising rights their advertising information will only appear in floating information panes 122 to 140, and only in the event that there are less entities in the set of user search results than there are floating information panes (i.e. in this case less than 10 entities in the set of user 15 search results). An entity may also elect to have a marker appear on the map and only have their details appear when a user interacts with their marker. If the advertising entity selects dedicated advertising rights in step 504, the search and advertising system 6 determines whether there are sufficient dedicated information panes 112 to 120 available for the combination of advertising area and keywords and/or 20 categories selected by the entity (or, conversely, whether the five dedicated information panes 112 to 120 for that particular combination have already been assigned) (Step 506). If the dedicated information panes 112 to 120 for the combination of advertising area and keywords have all been assigned, the advertising entity is offered the option (step 25 508) of changing their advertising area and keywords and/or categories. If the advertising entity accepts this option they are returned to step 502 to change the selected advertising area and keywords and/or categories. If the advertising entity declines to change their area and/or keywords they are returned to the beginning of the selecting advertising rights process (step 424).

23 If the advertising area (and keywords and/or categories) entered in step 506 have not all been assigned (i.e. less than five entities have selected that particular combination of advertising area and keywords and/or categories for dedicated advertising rights), the search and advertising system 6 allows the advertising entity to enter/upload the 5 advertising material they wish to associate with the advertising area and keywords and/or categories (step 510). The search and advertising system 6 them confirms the details of the advertising area, keywords, and advertising material with the entity and (if applicable) organises for any payment associated with those rights to be made (step 512), and then stores this information in the entity database 18 (step 514). 10 If the advertising entity selects floating advertising rights the search and advertising system 6 determines whether there are sufficient floating advertising rights available for the combination of advertising area and keywords selected by the entity (Step 516). If there are no floating advertising rights available, the advertising entity is offered the option (step 508) of changing their advertising area and keywords and/or categories. If 15 the advertising entity accepts this option they are returned to step 502 to change the selected advertising area and keywords. If the advertising entity declines to change their area and/or keywords they are returned to the beginning of the selecting advertising rights process (step 424). If floating advertising rights are available the search and advertising system 6 20 determines the priority level the advertising entity wishes to associate with their advertising rights (step 518). Noting that a higher priority level will result in the entity's advertising material being shown to a user of the system more frequently, the priority level may, for example, be determined on the basis of a fee structure or similar (i.e. the higher the fee paid by the advertising entity the higher the priority assigned). 25 As will be appreciated, by allowing an entity to purchase "floating" advertising rights an advertiser is able to advertise to users of the map even though they do not meet the specific search criteria set by the user. This further enables the advertiser to target a particular market segment as desired. For example, a restaurant in Bondi NSW may decide that they wish to advertise to people searching for hotels in Bondi and purchase 30 advertising rights accordingly (as described above). If a user was searching for hotels in 24 Bondi, NSW (and the search results were such that floating advertising rights were displayed) the restaurants advertising information would be displayed to the user. Once the priority level of the advertising rights has been determined in step 518 the search and advertising system 6 allows the advertising entity to enter/upload the 5 advertising material they wish to associate with the advertising area and keywords and/or categories (step 510). The search and advertising system 6 them confirms the details of the advertising area, keywords and/or categories, priority, and advertising material with the entity and (if applicable) organises for any payment associated with those rights to be made (step 512), and then stores this information in the entity 10 database 18 (step 514). The above process is not exhaustive and there are alternative methods by which priority listing and/or the assigning of advertising rights in a three-dimensional virtual space may be achieved. Advertising areas 15 For maximum flexibility, and noting (as discussed above) that the map representation provided by the system allows a user move the location of their viewpoint both around the map and to higher and lower altitudes, the system divides the map space logically into three dimensional blocks having a width, depth and height (as shown in figure 6). By doing this the advertising space available to be used by entities is far greater and 20 more manipulable than if the advertising space advertising space were assigned solely on the basis of a two-dimensional area (i.e. with a width and depth only). Referring to Figure 6A, several differently sized blocks of advertising space can be seen, each block having an advertising area defined by six faces. For example, block 602 is defined by an upper face 604 corresponding to the top-most view altitude of the 25 block, a lower face 606 defined by the lower-most view altitude of the block 602, and four side faces corresponding approximately to the northern, southern, eastern and western boundaries of the block 602. Block 610, sitting below block 602, also has an 25 advertising area defined by six faces corresponding to the upper and lower altitudes and northern, southern, eastern and western boundaries of the advertising area. By way of example, advertising block 602 may have been purchased by entity X and advertising block 610 purchased by entity Y. If the results of a user search are such that 5 the user's viewpoint is located within the area defined by the northern, southern, eastern, and western faces of block 602, and at a view altitude between the upper and lower altitudes of block 602, then the advertising details of entity X may be shown in one of the free information panes 110 in the user interface 100. If that user then zooms in on that map (i.e. lowers the viewing altitude) such that the 10 viewing area is within the north, south, east, west boundaries of block 610, and the view altitude is within the upper and lower altitude of block 610, then the advertising details of entity Y will be shown. As the user's viewpoint no longer falls within the boundaries of block 602 the advertising details of entity X will no longer be shown. Figure 6B provides, by way of non-limiting example, a two-dimensional representation 15 of one way in which a virtual geographic space may be divided into a number of cubic advertising spaces 612. The geographical area is defined by an altitude 614 and a breadth 616 (depth has been removed from this diagram for ease of illustration). The advertising spaces 612, in this instance each of equal volume, are placed side-by side and atop each other. The advertising spaces 612 may also be assigned 20 identification numbers in a systematic fashion for ease of reference. The diagonal zoom lines 618 show the show the extent of the map (i.e. the breadth 616) that will be visible at any given altitude. As a user moves their viewpoint to view a different portion of the map and/or to zoom in and out of the map, the viewpoint will move through different advertising spaces 612. As described above, each advertising 25 space 612 has particular advertising rights associated therewith and as such as a user moves their viewpoint the advertising displayed changes accordingly. It will of course be appreciated while rectangular or cubic advertising spaces provide for efficient demarcation of the boundaries of the advertising space (e.g. via the 26 specification of six co-ordinate points from which boundaries may be determined through simple equations), the three-dimensional advertising spaces could be of any desired shape provided the space encloses a volume. By dividing the virtual geographic space into three dimensional advertising spaces an 5 advertiser is able to specifically target a particular market by their choice of which advertising space (or spaces), and thereby which extent of the map, to purchase advertising rights in respect of. It will be appreciated that the foregoing provides one example of how advertising or information may be associated with a user's viewpoint in a three-dimensional virtual 10 space. Alternative systems and methods for utilising this concept are, of course, possible. The search system When a user enters in search criteria to text fields 102 and 104 and submits those criteria via activation of general search button 106 or the keyword search button 108 the 15 search criteria are sent to the search and advertising system 6. Figure 7 provides a flow chart representing the steps involve in the searching process 700. In step 702 the user enters in the desired search keywords into text field 102 and search area into text field 104. In step 704 the user then selects either the keyword search button 108 or the search button 106 (step 704). 20 If the user selects the keyword search button 108, the search and advertising system 6 performs a keyword search by searching the entity database 18 for entities with associated keywords that exactly match the keywords of the search criteria (step 706). If the user selects the general search button 106 the search and advertising system 6 performs a general search by searching the entity database 18 for entities with 25 matching keywords or with categories matching the keywords of the search criteria (step 708).

27 If no entities from the entity database 18 match the search criteria entered (either in the keyword search (step 706) or general search (step 708)) the search and advertising system 6 informs the user that their search yielded no results (step 710), and prompts the user to refine their search criteria (returning to step 702). 5 If one or more entities from the entity database 18 match the search criteria (keyword or general) the search and advertising system 6 creates a set of user search results (containing all entities from the entity database 18 matching the search criteria) and retrieves the data associated with the entities in the set of user search results (step 712). In step 714 the search and advertising system 6 locates the entities from the set 10 of user search results on the map representation according to their latitude longitude coordinates ready for presentation back to the user. Information associated with the 10 entities (or less) from the set of user search results closest to the viewpoint of the user (i.e. the centre of the search area) is retrieved from the entity database 18 and allocated to the floating information panes 122 to 140 in step 15 716. If there are less than 10 entities in the set of user search results the search and advertising system 6 also undertakes a search for any entities which have purchased floating advertising rights applicable to the search criteria (step 718). If such entities exist, information regarding those entities is retrieved from the entity database 18 and 20 allocated to the appropriate left over floating information panes (step 720). As discussed above these information panes (which are to display information regarding advertising entities) are also flagged so as to be displayed differently (and identifiable from) those information panes displaying entities from the set of user search results. Such advertisers could, alternatively, purchase a marker or other mode of identification on the 25 map which may also be displayed differently from the search results. The search and advertising system 6 also performs a search for any entities which have purchased dedicated advertising rights applicable to the search criteria (step 722). If such entities exist, information regarding those entities is retrieved from the entity 28 database 18 and allocated to the appropriate dedicated information panes or displayed on the map in the manner referred to above (step 724). In order to be applicable to the search criteria the keywords associated with the advertising rights must match the keyword criteria entered by the user, and the 5 advertising area associated with the advertising rights must encompass the viewpoint of the user. Finally, in step 726, the results of the search (including entities from the set of user search results, any entities occupying floating information panes, any entities occupying dedicated information panes, and any entities displayed on the map) are displayed to 10 the user on the user device 4. Alternate uses of the information display system While the embodiment of the invention above has been described as a search and advertising system it will be appreciated that alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention are possible, many not requiring a search system at all. 15 For example, many computer games involve a player moving around a game map, the game map being a three dimensional space. While the search functions of the above embodiments may not be of relevance to such an application (insofar as the user moves around the map to complete objectives of the game rather than to search for specific services or products) aspects of the information display system described above, 20 particularly those of registering a three-dimensional space with an information provider, are of use. The position of the user (or, specifically, user's viewpoint) in the game map is, in many games, be a position in three dimensional space having an altitude as well coordinates corresponding to the geographic location of the user on the map. The game 25 environment may also be (again by way of example only) a "realistic" city environment and include shops (with signage), bill boards and such like, and may even allow the player playing the game to listen to a game "radio".

29 In this case the present invention may be used to determine (in accordance with the user's location in the three dimensional game environment) the advertising (or other information) shown on the signage/bill boards and/or played over the game radio. Alternatively (or additionally) the game may be programmed to provide a player with 5 certain information (such as hints or tips) on entry into a particular three-dimensional space. Alternatively, the system may be used to display general information of potential interest rather than advertising information. For example, the system may be used in a virtual earth type application with general information (e.g. historical information on specific 10 sites/buildings, population information on towns etc) being displayed according to the viewpoint of the user. It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations 15 constitute various alternative aspects of the invention. It will also be understood that the term "comprises" (or its grammatical variants) as used in this specification is equivalent to the term "includes" and should not be taken as excluding the presence of other elements or features.

Claims

1. A method for displaying advertising to a user viewing a portion of an electronic map from a user viewpoint, the user viewpoint moveable to change the portion of the electronic map displayed to the user, the method including the steps of: registering at least one advertiser with a three-dimensional advertising space defined by an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude, and if the user viewpoint is contained within the three-dimensional advertising space, displaying advertising information associated with the advertiser registered with that three dimensional advertising space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user viewpoint is movable in a three dimensional space.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional advertising space is one of a plurality of three-dimensional advertising spaces, and other advertising information is associated with an advertiser registered with another one of the plurality of three-dimensional advertising spaces, wherein if the user viewpoint is moved to the other one of the plurality of three-dimensional advertising spaces, the other advertising information is displayed.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein registering the at least one advertiser with a three dimensional advertising space further includes associating the at least one advertiser with one or more search criteria, and wherein the advertising information of the advertiser is shown to the user if the user viewpoint is located in the three-dimensional space registered by the advertiser and the user has provided search criteria corresponding to the search criteria associated with the advertiser in respect of that three-dimensional space.

5. A method for displaying information to a user viewing a portion of an electronic map from a user viewpoint, the user viewpoint movable to change the portion of the electronic map displayed to the user, the method including the steps of: - 31 registering at least one information provider with a three-dimensional space defined by an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude, and if the user viewpoint is contained within the three-dimensional space, displaying information associated with the information provider registered with that three-dimensional space.

6. A method for assigning an advertiser with advertising rights in a virtual space, the virtual space viewable by a user from a user viewpoint moveable within the virtual space, the method including assigning to the advertiser a three-dimensional space defined by an upper altitude, a lower altitude and an advertising space boundary enclosing an area between the upper and lower altitude, the three-dimensional space being a sub-set of the virtual space, and wherein, in use, if the user viewpoint is located in the three-dimensional space advertising information of the advertiser is shown to the user.

7. A method according to claim 6 further including, assigning to the advertiser search criteria in respect of the three-dimensional space, and wherein, in use, the advertising information of the advertiser is shown to the user if the user viewpoint is located in the three-dimensional space assigned to the advertiser and the user has provided search criteria corresponding to the search criteria assigned to the advertiser in respect of that three-dimensional space.

8. Instructions executable by a data processing device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. Instructions executable by a data processing device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, when stored in a storage medium readable by the data processing device.

10. An information display system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.