EP1716529A1

EP1716529A1 - Information system

Info

Publication number: EP1716529A1
Application number: EP05707246A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Mohr
Original assignee: DCI Database for Commerce and Industry AG
Current assignee: DCI Database for Commerce and Industry AG
Priority date: 2004-02-20
Filing date: 2005-02-08
Publication date: 2006-11-02
Also published as: CA2556399A1; AU2005224727B2; AU2005224727A1; US7506028B2; JP2007523416A; NO20064260L; WO2005091184A1; JP5144935B2; US20070174392A1

Abstract

An internet-supported information system for selective representation of data e-mails (8) from a plurality of data providers (X,Y), which can be called up for a plurality of data receivers (E), comprising a central information server (1) provided with an e-mail interface unit (4), a web interface unit (10), a memory device (6) which comprises at least one advertising storage device (7) for storing data e-mails (8) of data providers (X,Y), and a selection device (13); a plurality of data processing systems (2) which are respectively allocated to a provider (X,Y) and which are provided with an e-mail interface (5x, 5Y) which is enabled to communication with at least one provider specific e-mail address (4x A, 4x,B, 4Y B, 4y ) of the e-mail interface unit (4) of the central information server (1), and a plurality of portal servers (3) which are respectively provided with a web interface (liA, 11B, 11c) and which can be connected to the web interface unit (10) of the central information server (1), wherein the portal servers (3) have access to specific data e-mails (8x,A, 8x,B, 8y,B, 8Y,c) which are stored in the advertising memory unit (7) and which are automatically determined by the selection device (13) according to the identity of the respective portal server (3A, 3B, 3c) and can represent them by means of a link on a home page (16A, 16B, 16,).

Description

information system

The present invention relates to an Internet-based information system for the selective display of data records from a large number of data providers, in particular in the form of an Internet-based system for the selective display of data e-mails from a large number of data providers. It further relates to a method for internet-based information of data recipients about offer data from data providers.

In recent years, trade in goods in particular has increasingly been characterized by temporary sales campaigns, against the background that the dealers in question receive particularly favorable purchasing conditions from the respective manufacturer through short-term sales of comparatively large quantities and can avoid costly warehousing. This is in direct connection with the information of the potential customer group addressed about the respective sales campaign, in particular via so-called newsletters sent as e-mails. Millions of such newsletters are sent out every day in Germany alone.

Only a fraction of the e-mails sent accordingly are actually read and awaken the interest of the addressees in the goods offered. In contrast, for the vast majority of emails, the respective content is not noticed by the recipients at all. The current system used to inform potential customers about sales campaigns is characterized by three disadvantages in particular: First, the data networks are blocked by objectively superfluous data transmissions. Furthermore, the addressed customers feel that a daily flood receive corresponding offers of all kinds, increasingly as a nuisance and in their annoyance often delete the newsletters addressed to them spontaneously unread, even if the content could be of interest to them. And finally, only those potential customers are reached who participate in e-mail traffic and whose e-mail addresses are known to the respective provider.

US 2003/0158777 AI discloses an internet-based information system in which registered users can create one or more user portfolios on an administration server. A restriction or selection of the advertising banners or other advertising messages displayed to the respective user is based on the specific data stored in the respective user portfolio, which reflect the interests of the registered user concerned. However, not every Internet user is willing to disclose private data about himself, so that a major disadvantage of this system is the lack of anonymity.

The same problem arises with the method described in US Pat. No. 6,480,885 B1 for the dynamic matching of user-specific selection criteria in the context of group emails or group forums on the Internet. Here, too, the registration of system users is mandatory, since the said comparison of the selection criteria is only possible with the help of user profile data to be created beforehand.

In the light of the facts outlined above, the present invention is based on the object of providing an internet-based information system of the type specified at the outset, which, with increased access, degree of the addressed data receiver avoids the disadvantages of the prior art set out above.

This object is achieved according to the present invention by an Internet-based information system for selectively displaying data emails from a large number of data providers that can be called up for a large number of data recipients, comprising a central information server with an email interface unit, a web interface unit, and one Storage device which has at least one offer storage unit for storing data e-mails from the data providers, and a selection device, a multiplicity of data processing systems which are each assigned to a data provider and via one for communication with at least one provider-specific e-mail Address of the e-mail interface unit of the central information server capable e-mail interface, and a variety of portal servers, each of which has a web interface and ve with the web interface unit of the central information server The portal servers have access to specific data e-mails stored in the offer storage unit and automatically determined by the selection device as a function of the identity of the respective portal server, and can then display them via a link on a homepage.

A first aspect of the present invention is thus that the data sent by the data providers as e-mails (eg newsletters), stored on the central information server, by any potential data recipient who has an internet-compatible data processing system, can be called up via the World Wide Web, regardless of whether the corresponding potential data recipient takes part in e-mail traffic or not. Another more important aspect of the present invention in practice is that the central information server, which is fed with data e-mails from providers of all kinds, automatically sorts and selects the stored data e-mails, whereby the selection depends on the identity of the respective portal server, via which the data recipient in question accesses the central information server; For the individual portal servers that have access to the central information server via a link on their homepage, different data emails stored in the central information server are thus made available. As a result, depending on the (current) interest situation of the respective data recipient, which is expressed in the use of a specific portal server corresponding to his current interests, a selection is made from the totality of the data e-mails stored in the central information server, with the result that the corresponding data recipient finds the data of interest (eg offers) more easily and quickly. In a figurative sense, the data recipient walks through a virtual themed street, in whose virtual shop windows he can view the data e-mails from various providers on this complex of topics. For example, data e-mails relating to the trading of EDP hardware and software can be called up via a link on the homepage of a portal server with the subject of this subject, whereas data e-mails relating to the Trade in toys relate to a link on the homepage of another, appropriately oriented portal server, and data e-mails that relate to the trade in drugstore products via one Link on the homepage of another, appropriately oriented portal server. All common file and email formats that can be displayed on the web (such as plain text, html, pdf, all common graphic formats, etc.) can be displayed in an ideal way, so that the data providers have the greatest possible flexibility for the design of the data - Allow emails. Yet another aspect of the present invention is that the data emails can be accessed for the entire duration of the validity of the corresponding offer; in this way it is impossible that they will be deleted prematurely by potential customers and are therefore no longer available to them later. Another advantage of the system according to the invention is that the potential data recipients (offer recipients) have access to a significantly broader range of offers, which enables them to determine the offer that is most favorable for them. The fact that they do not have to tell anyone their own email address and therefore do not have to worry about being overwhelmed with newsletters from now on is a decisive advantage for the acceptance of the system according to the invention. It can already be seen from the above that the system according to the invention gives the large number of data providers a great efficiency advantage in that they can reach a large number of data recipients by sending a single data e-mail to the e-mail interface unit of the central information server.

The portal-specific access to individual data e-mails stored on the central information server can be realized in the context of the system according to the invention in particular that the links of the individual portal servers access different, portal-specific websites, via which only those portal-specifically selected by the selection unit and for access by the corresponding portal server released data emails can be called up.

The selection of certain data e-mails which is carried out automatically by the selection device preferably also takes into account the specifications of the data providers connected to the system according to the invention, insofar as the data providers can determine via which portal servers, provided the consent of the portal operator concerned, their data e-mails should be accessible and which portal servers should not have access to their data e-mails, in spite of an actually suitable thematic orientation. In this respect, the selection device preferably also includes a suitable storage unit for the relevant provider-specific specification of portal servers with access authorization to their data emails.

The integration of appropriate protection mechanisms also makes an important contribution to the acceptance of the system by data providers, data recipients and subject portals. Known methods are considered as such, in which e.g. the connection data such as sender identification or IP address are used for authentication.

The interest of a portal server operator that users are really only provided with the data e-mails corresponding to their target group can be taken into account by filtering the data e-mails in the selection device according to appropriate keywords or with other common filter programs. This can in particular prevent misuse of the system by data providers who log on as data providers in a certain area (e.g. home improvement), but then want to feed data e-mails with different content (e.g. eroticism) into the system. Such "content filtering" can also be carried out by the operator of the central information server on a random basis if necessary. It can also be provided to give the operators of portal servers the opportunity to exclude unwanted data providers from the offer on their portal server.

From the above explanations and explanations of the present invention it can be seen that the information system according to the invention can be operated with great benefits and unmanageable advantages without the data recipients (eg potential customers and other offer recipients) having to step out of anonymity. On the other hand, the system according to the invention can be developed particularly advantageously in various respects if individual or all data receivers are registered and registered. In this case, for example, the respective registered user (data recipient) can define a user profile which is stored in a corresponding user database in the storage device of the central information server. Such a user profile can in particular include certain user-specific filter functions which are taken into account by the selection device when automatically selecting the data e-mails that can be called up via the portal server used and possibly their user-specific representation. The respective user profile can be taken into account by the selection device regardless of which portal server the user is accessing the central information server; this facilitates the use of the system according to the invention for those data recipients who access the central information server via various portal servers. In the user database, data relating to the various data providers of the respective user (data recipient), for example certain customer numbers of the respective user, can also be stored Data recipient (customer) can be stored at different data providers (dealers), which facilitates a comparison of the system according to the invention with the data providers' own data processing systems. In addition, the user can be given the option by means of correspondingly adaptable criteria in his user profile for a pre-sorting of the data e-mails then displayed in an appropriate order on all portal servers, for example according to the proximity of the provider to his place of residence or the timing of a promotion , to care. The options known as such are available for logging the registered users into the system.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the operators of the portal servers connected to the system according to the invention can set up the portal-specific selection device, the corresponding device data being able to be stored in a portal database of the information server. In this sense, a specific presentation, presentation, sorting and / or detailing of the data e-mails accessible via the relevant portal server can be specified in particular by means of a corresponding portal-specific specification. In this way, one and the same data email from a particular provider can be displayed differently depending on the identity of the portal server through which it is accessed. This allows the individual portals to strive for their own corporate identity. The content or subject lines of the content-specific data e-mails accessible to a portal can also be provided by the central information server as a so-called XML stream, which can be displayed there in the form of a news ticker or prepared for mobile applications. A preferred further development of the system according to the invention is characterized in that the storage device of the central information server also has a provider database for the retrievable provision of provider-specific data, with the respective offer email and the provider-specific data for each provider automatically being linked to one another. are linkable. In this sense, information relevant to the customer in question, such as delivery times, shipping costs, deadlines and conditions for the return of purchased goods and the like, provider-specific data for all providers connected to the system can be presented according to a uniform scheme. The offer recipients therefore do not need to study the applicable general terms and conditions, which experience has shown to be unreasonable effort, but rather have the relevant information of all providers active in the relevant area of interest immediately in a comparable form.

Furthermore, it can be provided to provide the providers of data e-mails with a module which is automatically generated from the provider data by the central information server and with which they can inform on their own homepage about which portal servers their current, on the central information server stored data emails are available for a user.

According to another preferred development of the invention, it is provided that the provider-specific data stored in the provider database each contain a link to an Internet presence of the provider in question. This is of particular interest to those providers who offer goods from various sectors (eg hardware store, home improvement store, garden store); because over the original Due to the portal-specific selection of the data e-mails, the respective data recipient only has access to some of the offers (eg only home improvement) from such providers. If he uses the link to the website of the provider in question, he can find out about the entire range of the provider in question.

With regard to those providers who offer goods from different sectors, it can be useful if individual providers are assigned several content-specific email addresses on the email interface unit of the central information server. In this case, the corresponding providers send the individual data emails relating to different sectors to different email addresses and in this way themselves contribute to a pre-sorting which is taken into account by the selection device of the central information server. The e-mail addresses assigned to a provider in each case to one or more specialist areas are advantageously generated automatically by a corresponding e-mail address creation and allocation unit of the central information server.

According to yet another preferred development of the invention, the storage device of the central information server further comprises an archive for the retrievable provision of previous data e-mails. Using correspondingly archived older, no longer up-to-date data e-mails, the offer recipients can carry out helpful market studies for their purchase decision.

The storage device of the central information server can also advantageously be used to enable a registered data receiver to whom a corresponding user program fil is assigned, the possibility is given to subscribe to a kind of subscription for certain or groups of data emails. This can be designed in such a way that the user (data recipient) is informed, for example, either at e-mail intervals that can be specified by him, about the arrival of all data e-mails from certain providers or certain content, or the user receives all content-specific e-mails from certain data providers can be sent by the central information server via email. The user can choose from the large number of data providers or content connected to the system and can simply unsubscribe from the subscription by changing his user profile.

Likewise, a data recipient registered with a user profile can be given the opportunity to request any newsletter provider whose newsletter he is principally interested in, but whom he no longer wants to be sent to his email address in the future, to send this to an automatically generated e-mail address of the central information server in the future. For this purpose, a registered user can, for example, be provided with a plug-in for conventional email management programs, such as Outlook or Outlook Express, which automatically generates a letter of invitation to the provider after selecting the newsletter, in which the newsletter provider is requested to send his emails sent to this special user to a specific email address of the email interface unit of the central information server. Access to this data e-mail can then be possible either only for the respective user or, depending on the content, also portal servers, depending on the provider's request. Another preferred development of the invention is characterized in that the selection device further comprises a content selection module for selecting such data e-mails stored in the offer storage unit and accessible via the portal server used in each case, containing the content selected by the respective offer recipient. Selection criteria. In this sense, the content selection module can, for example, search through the portal-specific data emails with regard to the use of certain terms. Offer recipients who are looking for a very specific product will find the corresponding offers easier in this way. For the purpose of clarification, it is pointed out that the term content selection criteria must not be interpreted narrowly in this context. For example, it can be provided that the data e-mails can be assigned additional content selection criteria by the provider, which go beyond the mere subject area. Such a content selection criterion could, for example, provide for the subdivision of the data e-mails into advertising, editorial information, customer information, press information, etc., whereby a selection according to hierarchical levels of trade in, for example, manufacturers, importers, intermediaries, dealers and end customers is also conceivable here is. If the system according to the invention provides for the possibility of registering data recipients (see above), the content selection criteria selected by the respective data recipient can be stored in the user database as part of the user profile.

According to yet another preferred development of the invention, it is provided that the selection device further includes a provider selection module for the selection of those stored in the offer storage unit and via the each of the portal servers used includes accessible data e-mails that meet the provider selection criteria selected by the respective offer recipient. Such provider selection criteria can be, for example, the location of the provider, in particular a selection according to zip code areas or the condition of free shipping. Here, too, it applies again that the provider selection criteria selected by the respective data recipient can be stored in the user database as part of the user profile, provided the system according to the invention provides for the registration of the data recipient (see above).

Furthermore, the central information server can include an action device for carrying out predetermined, defined processes that can be selected by the respective offer recipient with regard to the provider assigned to the active data e-mail called up in each case. Callable standard processes in this sense can in particular be all web services, ie in particular predefined data exchange processes via standardized interfaces. Another standard process that can be selected by the offer recipient in this sense can, for example, be a call-back process, the selection of which is communicated to the provider the request of the offer recipient to be called back by the offerer under a telephone number to be specified by the offer recipient. Other such standard processes can also be, for example, a purchase process or a catalog order process, in the selection of which either the recipient of the offer, specifying a delivery address and the desired payment method, can buy an item advertised in a data email directly from the provider or the recipient of the offer a supplier's catalog is sent to an address to be provided by him. The system according to the invention sees the registration of the data recipients Before (see above), the callback number, address or bank details or credit card information once specified by the respective data recipient can be stored in the user database as part of the user profile. A connection to a specific or several e-cash systems for cashless payment on the Internet can also be made with the help of the user profile, in that the default settings or payment methods selected there are adopted directly when making a purchase. Since both contract partners can be authenticated by the system provider in such a transaction, the risk of a breach of contract is minimized in principle and can be insured, for example, by the system provider.

For the commercial use of the present invention, the calls to offer e-mails are expediently automatically recorded and registered by offer recipients with assignment of the portal server used in each case and logging of all recordable data of the respective access and of the transaction which may result from this. In this respect, all suitable devices known as such can be used. Such an automatic recording of the access and transaction data enables the automatic determination of a remuneration which is dependent on the number of accesses and, if applicable, the result, and which must be paid by the providers to the operator of the central information server and / or the operator of the portal server. In particular, if the system according to the invention provides for the registration of the data recipients (see above), the data recipients may also participate in the costs. Provision can also be made for the provision of the central information server to be invoiced to the operators of portal servers. This is because they receive added value for their portal from the system according to the invention by providing users with their subject portal comprehensive system is provided, on which users can find and evaluate additional topic-specific information directly from the relevant providers.

The logged data can also be used for a kind of "evaluation" of the data e-mails from the various data providers, for example by evaluating the number of accesses to a specific data e-mail by different users (data recipients). However, a device can also be provided which gives the users themselves the opportunity to assess a retrieved data email with regard to possibly different criteria, these assessments then being made available to the other users, possibly only to registered users ,

Yet another preferred development of the system according to the invention is characterized in that at least some provider data processing systems each include a web server with a web interface unit and a storage device accessible via the web interface unit for provider-specific data records stored in an internet-compatible format , wherein the central information server comprises a storage unit with the connection data relating to the establishment of the connection to the provider web servers and the portal servers have access to provider data records from specific providers determined by the selection device as a function of the identity of the respective portal server and these providers -Data records can then be displayed via a link on a homepage. In this way it is possible for the offer recipients in addition to those data e-mails that are selected based on their specific interests, which are expressed by the identity of the portal server used in each case. websites of the providers who are active in the relevant area were displayed on the same interface. Here, too, a selection is made of the providers whose website the respective recipient of the offer has access to, depending on the identity of the portal server he is using.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, which is also based on the principles explained above, based on the above explanations, an information system can be implemented in which the providers do not send data e-mails to the central information server, but rather their offers solely on provider-specific web servers for Provide access through potential offer recipients, especially in the form of dynamic, regularly updated websites. Such an internet-based information system for the selective display of data records from a large number of providers comprises a large number of web servers, each of which is assigned to a provider, has a web interface unit and has a storage device accessible via the web interface unit for provider-specific data records stored in an internet-compatible format , a central information server with a web interface unit, a storage unit with the connection data relating to the establishment of the connection to the provider web servers and a selection device and a large number of portal servers, each of which has a web interface and can be connected to the web interface unit of the central information server are, whereby the portal servers have access to provider data records from specific providers determined by the selection device as a function of the identity of the respective portal server via the information server and can then display these via a link on a homepage.

The automatic selection of the offer data, which is decisive for the present invention, depending on the identity of the portal server used by the respective offer recipient, is used in this embodiment in the same way as in the system based on data e-mails described and explained above, so that the same aspects and advantages apply to this second embodiment of the invention as to the first embodiment.

Although the present invention can be used in a special way in the field of goods trading and for this reason has been explained above in connection with this application, the invention is by no means restricted to this field of application. Rather, the present invention can obviously be applied with the same advantages to a large number of other areas of application, where for data recipients an automatic preselection must be carried out from a large number of data depending on the respective interest situation, in order for the respective data recipient to find the data of interest to them to facilitate. In this respect, terms used above such as "offer", "recipient", "provider" and the like. not to be understood in a manner restricting the invention to the trade in goods.

Moreover, for the purpose of clarification, it is pointed out that the terms "portal" and "portal server" must not be interpreted narrowly. These are by no means only Understand portals (Internet shop windows) in the narrower sense. Rather, in the context of the present invention, various registers are also considered as a "portal", in which data providers connected to the system are listed, for example directories of the chambers of industry and commerce, industry registers, exhibitor directories and the like. In this case, the entry in the register relating to the respective data provider is linked to the central information server, the selection device in this case being able to be set in such a way that only data e-mails from that data provider can be accessed via this link.

The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the system shown serving to inform potential customers about the current offers from retail companies.

The system comprises a central information server 1, two data processing systems 2, of which the data processing system 2 _{X is assigned to} a provider X and the data processing system 2 _Y is assigned to a provider Y, and three portal servers 3, of which the portal server 3 _{A is} thematically oriented to subject area A. , portal server 3 _B on subject area B and portal server 3 _C on subject area C. Provider X operates in business areas A and B, provider Y, on the other hand, in business areas B and C.

The central information server comprises an e-mail interface unit 4, with which the provider data processing systems 2 _X and 2 _Y can communicate via these respectively assigned e-mail interfaces 5 _X and 5 _Y. The providers X and Y are each two E- Mail addresses assigned, namely the provider X the addresses 4 _XA and 4 _XιB and the provider Y the addresses 4 _YB and 4 _{Y / C.} The provider X _{thus sends} his data emails containing offers relating to his business area A to the email address 4 _XιA and his data emails containing offers relating to his business area B to the email -Address 4 _{X / B} ; and the provider Y sends his data emails, which contain offers relating to his business area B, to the email address 4 _{Y> B} and his data emails, which contain offers relating to his business area C, to the email address 4 _YC .

The central information server 1 comprises a storage device 6 with an offer storage unit 7, in which the data e-mails 8 containing the current offers of the connected providers are stored, namely in the present case the data e-mails 8 _XA , 8 _{X / B} , 8 _YB and 8 _YC . When the corresponding data e-mails are received, the data e-mails that are no longer current are moved from the offer storage unit 7 into an archive 9, which is part of the storage device 6.

The central information server 1 also has a web interface unit 10, via which the portal servers 3 have access to the central information server 1 via web interfaces 11, which are in turn assigned to them. Each of the three portal servers 3 can be connected to the central information server 1 via a link on the relevant homepage. However, the links on the individual portal servers are linked to different URLs. Thus, the portal server 3 _{A is} linked to a URL 10 _A , to which a website 12 _{A is} assigned, in which the data email 8 _{XA is} embedded. The portal server 3 _B is linked to a URL 10 _B , to which a website 12 _{B is} assigned, in which a list with the data e-mails 8 _XB and 8 _{YB is} embedded. And the portal server 3 _C is linked to a URL 10 _c , which is associated with a website 12 _c , in which the data email 8 _{Y> C is} embedded. In this way, a selection device 13 is created in the sense that any potential offer recipient E who visits the homepage 16 _{A of} the portal server 3 _A using the web browser 14 of his PC 15 with Internet access and by clicking on the link embedded there the central information server 1 is forwarded, only the website 12 _A with the data e-mail 8 _XA can see, whereas if it is forwarded to the central information server 1 by clicking on the link embedded on the homepage 16 _{B of} the portal server 3 _B , only the website 12 _B with the data emails 8 _XB and 8 _{Y <B} can see.

The web pages 12 _A , 12 _B and 12 _c are structured according to a matching scheme so that the offer recipients can find their way around and move around without extensive training. The web pages 12 in particular each contain a link 17, via which the respective offer recipient E comes to a website which represents the provider-specific data stored in the provider database 18 for the provider (eg Y) from which the respectively active data -Email (e.g. 8 _YB ) comes from. By clicking on a further link 19 on the web page 12, a callback program 20 is opened, which automatically provides the provider (eg Y) of the currently active data email (eg 8 _YB ) with the request of the recipient E, under one of these the phone number to be given will be informed. Another link 21 on the web page 12 redirects to an Internet presence of the provider concerned. By clicking on a further link 22 on the web page 12, a search program 23 is opened which contains the data associated with the corresponding web page (eg 12 _B ). Emails (8 _XB and 8 _{Y # B} ) checked for the use of a certain term or other search criteria. By clicking on another link 24 on the website 12, a list of the previous, no longer up-to-date data emails of the provider of the currently active data emails stored in the archive 9 is created.

Claims

Patent claims

1. Internet-based information system for the selective display of data emails (8) from a variety of data providers (X, Y) that can be accessed by a large number of data recipients (E), comprising a central information server (1) with an e-mail interface unit ( 4), a web interface unit (10), a storage device (6) which has at least one offer storage unit (7) for storing data emails (8) from the data providers (X, Y), and a selection device ( 13), a large number of data processing systems (2), each of which is assigned to a provider (X, Y) and via a communication with at least one provider-specific email address (4 _XA , ⁴ _X,B / ⁴ _Y,B ⁴ _Y,C ) the e-mail interface unit (4) of the central information server (1) has _an e-mail interface ( ₅ -Interface (11 _A , 11 _B , ll _c ) and can be connected to the web interface unit (10) of the central information server (1), the portal server (3) having access to specific data stored in the offer storage unit (7). _, have data e _- mails ₍ ₈ _XA _, ₈ can then be displayed via a link on a homepage (16 _A , 16 _B , 16 _c ).

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the storage device (6) of the central information tion server (1) also has a provider database (18) for the retrievable provision of provider-specific data, the respective offer email (8) and the provider-specific data being automatically linked to each other for each provider (X, Y).

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the provider-specific data stored in the provider database (18) each contains a link to an Internet presence of the provider in question (X, Y).

4. System according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the storage device (6) of the central information server (1) further comprises an archive (9) for the retrievable provision of previous data emails (8).

5. System according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the selection device (13) also has a content selection module for selecting data emails stored in the offer storage unit (7) and accessible via the portal server (3) used (8) which correspond to the content selection criteria selected by the respective data recipient E.

6. System according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the selection device (13) also has a provider selection module for selecting data stored in the offer storage unit (7) and accessible via the portal server (3) used. E-mails (8) which correspond to provider selection criteria selected by the respective data recipient.

7. System according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the central information server (1) also has an action device for carrying out predetermined processes that can be selected by the respective data recipient (E) with regard to the data emails accessed in each case ( 8) assigned provider (X, Y).

8. System according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the links of the individual portal servers (3 _A , 3 _B , 3 _C ) access different, portal-specific websites (12 _A , 12 _B , 12 _c ), via which only the data emails (8) selected by the selection unit (13) in a portal-specific manner and released for access can be accessed

9. System according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that individual providers (X, Y) on the e-mail interface unit (4) of the central information server (1) have several content-specific e-mail addresses ( ⁴ X, A > ⁴ X, _B < ⁴ Y, B' ⁴ _Y , _C ).

10. System according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least some provider data processing systems (2) each comprise a web server with a web interface unit and a storage device accessible via the web interface unit for provider-specific data sets stored in an internet-capable format , whereby the central central information server (1) comprises a storage unit with the connection data relating to the connection establishment to the provider web servers and the portal servers have access via the information server to provider data sets from specific providers determined by the selection device depending on the identity of the respective portal server and These can then be displayed via a link on a homepage.

11. Internet-based system for the selective display of data records from a large number of providers, comprising a large number of web servers, each of which is assigned to a provider, has a web interface unit and a storage device accessible via the web interface unit for provider-specific data sets stored in an internet-capable format have a central information server with a web interface unit, a storage unit with connection data relating to the connection establishment to the provider web servers as well as a selection device and a large number of portal servers, each of which has a web interface and can be connected to the web interface unit of the central information server are, whereby the portal servers have access via the information server to provider data sets from specific providers determined by the selection device depending on the identity of the respective portal server and can then display these via a link on a homepage.

2. Method for the Internet-based information of data recipients (E) about offers from data providers (X, Y) comprising the following steps: Providing a central information server (1) with an email interface unit (4), a web interface unit (10) and a storage device (6), which comprises at least one offer storage unit (7); Providing a plurality of portal servers (3), each of which has a web interface unit (3) and can be connected to the web interface unit (11) of the central information server (1); Sending offer e-mails (8) containing provider-specific data by a large number of data processing systems (2), each of which is assigned to a provider (X, Y), to at least one provider-specific e-mail address ( ₄ 4 _XB , 4 _YC , 4 _X/C ) of the central information server (1); Automatically storing the offer emails (8) received by the central information server (1) in the offer storage unit (7); Enabling the establishment of connections between a large number of data processing systems (15), each of which is assigned to a data receiver (E) and has a web interface (14), and the central information server (1) using the link of the relevant one Data receiver accessed portal server (3); Automatic selection of and access release to offer emails (8) stored in the offer storage unit (7), depending on the identity of the respective portal server (3); Accessing the selected and approved offer emails by the large number of offer recipients via the World Wide Web.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the calls to offer emails (8) by data recipients (E) are recorded and registered by assigning the portal server (3) used in each case.

14. The method according to claim 12 or claim 13, characterized in that the individual portal servers (3) access different, portal-specific websites (12) via the respective link, via which only the respective portal-specific selected offer emails and released for access (8) can be called.