GB2380093A

GB2380093A - Information directory system and method

Info

Publication number: GB2380093A
Application number: GB0122727A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Grant John Robson
Original assignee: MEDIA SCOOP Ltd
Current assignee: MEDIA SCOOP Ltd
Priority date: 2001-09-20
Filing date: 2001-09-20
Publication date: 2003-03-26
Also published as: GB0122727D0

Abstract

A method and system for allowing the retrieval of an e-mail and/or web address for an entity is provided. A database, 14, of unique telephone numbers representations and corresponding e-mail and/or web addresses for entities is stored. A server, 10, receives a unique telephone representation input through an interface on a web page displayed on the web browser, 3a, of the user's computer, 3, via the internet, 2. An e-mail and/or web address corresponding to the received unique telephone representation is received from the database, 14, and allows an e-mail to be sent to the entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.

Description

Information Directory System and Method The present invention generally relates to a system for accessing information for an entity such as an individual or a company. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for allowing the retrieval of an e-mail and/or web address for an entity using a unique identification code such as a unique telephone number representation for the entity.

The use of the Internet has become prevalent for providing information and as a means of communication. The World Wide Web is particularly useful for accessing information. However. in order to access a web page over the World Wide Web. it is necessary to input a universal resource locator (URL) address. Such addresses can be lengthy and complex and are not intuitive to remember when they are not provided as hyperlinks on a web page. For example. on advertisements in newspapers, magazines or on the television, reference is frequently made to the companies'web site. Often. the address or URL is not easily remembered, particularly in view of the importance of the syntax.

Similarly. with regard to e-mails. e-mail addresses are often long and complex and once again their syntax is not simple. For example. the ampersand sign together with full stops and underscores can result in the incorrect exchange of e-mail addresses.

In the field of Internet Protocol telephony. in which telephony speech signals are transmitted as Internet Protocol data over the Internet, the problem of avoiding the need for a long list of addresses, including an e-mail address. web address and telephone number, has been addressed by the ENUM standard. The ENUM standard describes a mechanism for using the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) to handle the translation of a single number e. g. telephone number into an Internet address (an Internet Protocol (IP) address). ENUM is a name adopted by the telephone numbering voicing group of the Internet engineering task force (IETF) to describe a DNS based mechanism for the

mapping of E. 164 numbers into URLs. E. 164 is an international telecommunication union (ITU) standard that describes the format of telephone numbers used around the world.

Whilst this approach provides one solution to the problem, it requires the modification of the domain name system to handle the translation from telephone number to Internet Protocol address. This requires a significant modification at a low level of operation of the Internet.

It is thus an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide a simple system to enable the use of telephone numbers to retrieve web and e-mail addresses for entities.

It is an object of another aspect of the present invention to provide a method and system for accessing information for an entity using a unique identification code for the entity.

In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method and system for allowing the retrieval of an e-mail and/or web address for an entity. A database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding e-mails and/or web addresses for an entity is provided. A server provides a web or WAP page into which can be entered a unique telephone number representation for an entity. An e-mail and/or web address corresponding to the received unique telephone number representation is retrieved from the database to allow an e-mail to be sent to the entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.

In accordance with the present invention, a unique telephone number representation can comprise any alpha numerics that neatly identify a telephone number used by an entity.

For example, to ensure that the telephone number is unique, the representation should include the international and local code together with the telephone number. The telephone number can either be represented numerically e. g. 12345. or it can be represented alpha numerically, as is often the case in the United States e. g. 0800 TRUCKS.

The server of the present invention can comprise any suitable sen er to provide the e- mail and/or web addresses. The present invention is particularly suited to implementation as a web based system or a WAP based system for mobile use.

There are many ways in which the retrieved e-mail and web address can be used by the server in accordance with this aspect of the present invention. In one embodiment the server outputs the retrieved e-mail and/or web address in an interface e. g. in a web page.

In another embodiment. the retrieved e-mail and/or web address is used to generate and output an interface of a web page having hyperlinks therein to allow an e-mail to be sent to the entity and/or to allow the web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the server is adapted to access an output of the web page at the retrieved web address.

In another embodiment of the present invention. the server invokes the opening of an email interface such as an e-mail client. or a web mail client to provide an e-mail interface to allow an e-mail to be composed and sent to the retrieved e-mail address. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the server outputs a referral to the web page of the retrieved web page address to cause the web browser being used by the user to retrieve the web page at the retrieved web address directly from a web server. It can thus be seen that in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention, a simple system is provided to allow the e-mail and/or web address of an entity to be obtained simply by using the telephone number for the entity. Since the system is operated on a server, it provides a system which supplements the conventional e-mail and web addressing methodology without requiring a change in the infrastructure in the Internet. i. e. modification of the content of the domain name servers implementing the domain name system. The system enables an e-mail to be sent or a web page to be accessed by providing the e-mail address or web address i. e. URL. This is then used in the conventional manner by a conventional DNS to obtain the IP address necessary for the communication.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the telephone number representations can be hierarchically arranged to allow an entity to assign additional telephone number representations such as telephone extension numbers to sub-entities.

Thus. in one embodiment of the present invention. when a unique telephone number representation is input, the server generates an interface such as a web page containing the e-mail and web address for the entity as well as a window to allow the input of an additional telephone number representation for a sub-entity. If an additional telephone number representation is entered, an e-mail and/or web address for the sub-entity is retrieved using the additional telephone number representation, to allow an e-mail to be sent to the sub-entity and/or to allow a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.

In one embodiment the hierarchical organisation of unique telephone number representations is organised such that unique telephone number representations for subentities have a prefix common to their corresponding entities. Thus. telephone number representations for sub-entities are longer than telephone number representations for entities. The hierarchical organisation can have many layers and thus sub-entities may themselves be entities for further sub-entities.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a unique telephone number representation for a sub-entity can be entered directly by entering the full unique telephone number representation for the sub-entity. Alternatively. the telephone number representation for an entity can be entered to access an interface such as a web page displaying e-mail and/or web address information for that entity and the additional telephone number representation can be entered on that interface to access the e-mail and/or web page information for the sub-entity. This process can be repeated to access the e-mail and/or web address information for further sub-entities of the sub-entities. The retrieval process concatenates the suffix telephone number representation for an entity with the additional telephone number representation for the sub-entity.

The use of entities and sub-entities allow for an organisation structure where the entity is a business. For example, the main telephone representation number can be the main switchboard number for the business. A first level of sub-entity can comprise a department e. g. a general extension number for the department. and a further sub-entity

level can comprise an individual within the department i. e. an individual extension number.

The present invention also provides a method and system for accessing a web page or sending an e-mail to an entity in which an interface having a window for inputting the unique telephone number representation is accessed. The unique telephone number representation for an entity that is input on the interface is received and sent to a server to look up a corresponding e-mail or web address and the e-mail or web address is received to allow the web page at the web address to be accessed or an e-mail to be sent to the e-mail address.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a system and method for accessing information for an entity. An interface of a web page for inputting unique identification code for an entity is provided. Information corresponding to an input unique identification code is accessed in a database that stores information and a unique identification code for a plurality of entities. An interface such as a web page containing the information for the entity retrieved from the database is generated.

Thus. in accordance with this aspect of the present invention. a simple interface is provided allowing information on an entity to be retrieved simply by inputting a unique identification code for that entity.

In one embodiment. the unique identification code comprises a unique telephone number representation for the entity.

In another embodiment, the information includes an e-mail address and/or a web address for the entity. The e-mail and/or web address can be included as hyperlinks on the generated interface.

In one embodiment, the database stores information and a unique additional identification code for sub-entity of at least one entity. The database stores information and a unique additional identification code for sub-entities of at least one entity. The interface is generated to contain an input window to allow a user to input a unique

additional identification code for a sub-entity. Information corresponding to an input unique additional identification code is accessed in the database and an interface containing the information for the sub-entity is generated. Thus, in this embodiment of the present invention, the unique identification codes for a plurality of entities and subentities can be organised hierarchically in which unique identification code for a subentity comprises as a prefix the unique identification code for the corresponding entity.

The present invention can be implemented in a single computer system. or a network of computer systems and thus the present invention encompasses a single computer system and a network of computer systems. Further, since the present invention can be implemented on a computer system, the present invention can be implemented as computer code on a general purpose computer. The present invention thus encompasses computer code for programming a computer to implement the method of the present invention. The computer code can be loaded onto a computer using any suitable carrier medium which is also included within the scope of the present invention. The carrier medium can comprise a transient medium such as an electrical, optical. microwave. magnetic, acoustic or radio frequency signal (e. g. an internet protocol signal carrying computer code over an internet protocol network such as the internet), or a storage medium such as a floppy disk, hard disk. CD ROM, magnetic tape, or solid state memory device.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. in which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer network for implementing an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a screen shot of a screen for the input of the unique telephone number representation. termed a basic identification number (BIN); Figure 3 is a screen shot illustrating a basic information page for a company in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a basic information page for an entity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention : and Figures 5a and 5b are a flow diagram illustrating the method of operation of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 1 is an illustration of implementation of an embodiment of the present invention over a computer network which in this embodiment comprises the Internet 2. Although in this embodiment, a network i. e. the Internet 2 is utilised. the present invention can be implemented on a single computer.

A user's computer 3 is connected to a directory service system 1 implemented on one or a number of servers via the Internet 2. A user's computer 3 comprises a standard general purpose computer such as an IBM (trade mark) compatible computer, implementing a web browser 3a such as Microsoft Explorer (trade mark) and an e-mail client 3b such as Microsoft Outlook. Thus. a user is simply able to use conventional web browsing techniques and e-mail techniques to benefit from the service.

Within the directory service system 1, there is provided a web server 10 which accesses and serves static web pages in a static HTML store 11. The web server 10 also implements code and uses HTML templates stored in the code and template store 12.

The web server 10 can comprise any conventional web server capable of implementing certain functions. For example, the web sever can be an active server page (ASP) enabled web server. The web server 10 interfaces to a database application server 13 which accesses a database 14. The database application server 13 can comprise any conventional database application server such as a SQL server. The database 14 contains data on entities that have registered for the service. The data within the database includes indexes to HTML templates and ASP codes stored within the code and template store 12 to enable the web server 10 to generate the desired web pages for an entity when a unique telephone number representation for an entity is input by a user. as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The directory service system 1 also includes a data file store 15 which is accessible by the web server 10. The data file store 5 stores photos. files, etc for an entity. The files within the data file store 15 are indexed within the database 40 for entities to enable entities to access the files via secure pages. This enables entities to register for the service to gain access to a secure environment within the directory service system. as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

An entity that wishes to take advantage of the service i. e. an entity that wishes other entities to be able to access their web page or to send e-mails without having to remember their e-mail or web address. must register for the service. The registration procedure simply requires an entity to access a web page hosted by the web server 10 and enter data for the entity. The data will include : Company name : Contact name: Address ; Telephone number ; Fax number ; Mobile telephone number: Indicators to indicate whether all or only some of the telephone numbers are to be entered as unique telephone number representations termed basic identification numbers (BINs); Is an extension page required (yes or no); Extension page information i. e. extension telephone numbers and corresponding web and e-mail addresses and key word description information; Web address or addresses for links: e-mail address or addresses for links ; Keyword company classification information e. g. plumber, electrician, car manufacturer etc; Keyword description; Password required for secure area; Additional services required e. g. web hosting to provide a hosted web site. photo storage and other data storage in the secure area, etc;

Payment details.

The entered data for the entity is stored in the database 14. Once registered, it is thus possible for anybody to access a web page hosted by the web server 10 in order to retrieve the e-mail and web address and other information for the entity.

Figure 2 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a web page hosted by the web server 10 to enable a user to enter a unique telephone number for an entity in order to gain information on the entity including their e-mail address and web address. The web page hosted by the web server 10 and interpreted by the web browser 3a to be displayed on the user's computer 3 thus becomes a window to allow access by use of a"password"to information on an entity, where the password is an identifier or BIN.

Figure 3 is a screen shot of an example of an information page for an entity. An information page is a web page hosted by the directory service system 1 to provide basic information on the entity, links to their web site and other information. and an email link to enable an e-mail to be sent. Also. this information page includes a window to enable an additional telephone number termed a"BIN end number"to be entered e. g. an extension number for a sub-entity such as an individual within the company or a department within the company.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an information page 20 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In the information page 20. there is a central area 24 containing information on the entity. This can include the entity name. address. telephone number, keyword company classification e. g. car manufacturer and keyword description. The page 20 also includes a web link 21 to the entity's web site which is external to the directory service system 1 and an e-mail link 25 to enable an e-mail to be sent to the entity. A hosted web link 22 is also provided where the entity has subscribed to a web hosting service to provide full hosting of a web page by the directory service system 1. Such hosted web pages can avoid the need for an entity to host their own web site or could be used to supplement the entity's own web site.

The information page 20 also includes an extension page link 23 to link to an extension web page containing links to sub-entities of the entity. For example. if the entity is a company. an extension web page can contain links to individual web pages for individuals or to web pages for departments. Also. e-mail links can be provided to enable e-mails to be sent to individuals or to departments.

A secure pages link 26 is also provided in the information page 20 to enable access to secure web pages and secure information. This can be used by the entity or by someone authorised by the entity to access information hosted by the directory service system 1 and to modify information and host web pages.

The information page 20 further comprises a window 27 for entering an extension number by a BIN end number. This allows an information page for a sub-entity such as an individual or department to be accessed to enable the e-mail address and web address for the sub-entity to be retrieved.

The operation of the system will now be described in more detail with reference to the flow diagram of Figures Sa and 5b.

When a user uses their web browser 3a on computer 3 to access the main web page hosted by the web server 10, the web browser retrieves the HTML from the static HTML store 11 for the main page and the browser displays it on the computer 3 (step S 1). Such a main page is illustrated in Figure 2. A window is provided to enable the user to enter a unique telephone number (a BIN) (step S2). The user can enter the BIN. or a conventional URL for a web page. Thus, when the data is entered (step S2) on the web page, and received by the web server 10, the web server 10 determines the type of data that has been entered (step S3). If the type of data entered is recognised as a URL, the web server 10 will generate a referral back to the web browser 3a to access the entity's web page addressed by the URL (step S5). If the data type is not recognised (step S3), the web server 10 will generate an output at error page (step S4) and then return to the main web page (step Sl). If the data type is recognised (step S3) as a BIN. the BIN is used by the database application server 13 to look up entity data in the database 14 (step S6). If the database application server 13 determines that the BIN is

not valid i. e. there is no entity registered in the database with such a BIN (step S7). an error web page is output (step S4) by the web server 10 and then the main web page is output by the web server 10 (step S I) to the web browser 3a.

If the BIN number is determined to be valid by the database application server 13 (step S7), the entity data is read to determine the entity data type (step S8). If the entity data type indicates that the entity has requested that the entity's own web site be directly accessed, the web server 10 redirects the web browser 3a to access the entity's web page directly (step S5). If the entity's data type i. e. the type of data entered in the database for an entity (step S8) indicates that the entity requires the entity's hosted web page which is hosted by the directory service system 1 to be output, the web server 10 generates a web page using the code and templates in the code and template store 12 indexed by the entity data in the database 14 (step S9). If the entity data type (step S8) indicates that the entity requires a basic service, the web server 10 will access the code and template data in the code and template store 12 as indexed by the entity data in the database 14 to generate an information page for the entity (step S10) as illustrated in Figure 4. The information page must be generated e. g. as an active server page using the ASP code and HTML template stored in the code and template store 12 as indexed by the entity data in the database 14. The entity data 14 will define whether there are any extension pages related to the information page and thus whether there should be an extension page link 23 and a window 27 for entering an extension number. The hyperlink for the web link 21 and the link for the e-mail link 25 as well as the hyperlink for the hosted web link 22 will also be formatted in the generated web page independent upon the entity data in the database 14.

If the hosted web link 22 is selected (step S 11), the web server 10 outputs the entity's hosted web page (step S9) to the web browser 3a. If the e-mail link 25 is selected (step S12) the web server 10 invokes the e-mail server 16 to provide an e-mail window for the composing and sending of an e-mail to the e-mail address retrieved from the entity data in the database 14 (step S13). Although in this embodiment the e-mail server 16 is controlled by the web server 10 to act as an e-mail client to send an e-mail. in an alternative embodiment the web server 10 can run a web mail client in order to

compose and send an e-mail to the e-mail address retrieved from the entity data in the database 14.

If the web link 21 is selected for the entity's web page (step S25), the web server 10 redirects the web browser 3a to the entity's web page (step S5).

If the extension page link 23 is selected (step S21) by a user, the web server 10 generates an extension page (step S22) using the code and template data in the code and template store 12 indexed by the entity data in the database 14. The extension page comprises links to sub-entities. The sub-entities can for example be individuals or departments within a company. If a link is selected to a sub-entity (step S23) the subentity now becomes the entity in step S8 and the database application server 13 retrieves the entity data for the sub-entity from the database 14 and determines the entity data type (step S8). An information page for the sub-entity can then be displayed (step SIC) and the process proceeds as for the parent entity. In this way. entities can have a hierarchical arrangement with there being sub-entities of sub-entities.

If on the information page 20 the user enters a BIN for a sub-entity (step S24) the database application server 13 retrieves the entity data from the database 14 for the subentity and the entity data type is determined (step S8). The process proceeds then as if the sub-entity was the entity.

If the link 26 to secure pages is selected (step S 14), the web server 10 generates a password page (step S 15) to allow a user to enter a password (step S 16). When a password is input, the web server 10 compares the input password with the password for the entity data retrieved from the database 14 by the database application server 13. If the password is not valid (step S 17), a warning page is generated and displayed by the

web server 10 (step S 18) and the information page for the entity is then re-displayed (step SIC). If the password is determined to be valid by the web server 10 (step S 17) the web server 10 displays the secure web page (step S 19). The secure web page allows access to download or upload data files into the data file store 15 (step S20). Also. it is possible for the hosted web pages to be modified and the entity data stored in the

database 14 to be modified. In this way. the environment and data hosted by the directory service system 1 can be modified by a user via the secure area.

It can thus be seen that this embodiment of the present invention provides for a simple "password"type access into an information area simply by using a unique identification code which is preferably a unique telephone number representation. As an alternative. however. the identification code i. e. the BIN can comprise any registered alpha numeric code such as a name or password. This however requires registration on a first come. first served basis and unlike the use of telephone number representation. is only unique because of the control on the registration of the identification code by entities. In contrast, telephone number representations must inherently be unique since they represent a telecommunications terminal accessible over the telecommunications network using the number.

Although the present invention has been described hereinabove with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to a skilled person in the art that variations lie within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For example, in the present invention, an entity can comprise any kind of entity such as a company, partnership, individual, or association of individuals.

Although in the embodiments described hereinabove. the invention has been described with reference to web pages. the present invention is also applicable to wireless application protocol (WAP) in which the information is provided as text based information.

Although the telephone number representation is required to be unique i. e. should include the international code and the area code, to avoid the need for a user entering their international code. the main web page can be provided with a drop down menu to allow a user to select their home country. This will automatically add the international code to the telephone number entered by the user thus avoiding the need for the user to enter the international code.

In one embodiment of the present invention. the information provided on an entity as a result of the input of the identification code can include a link to enable an Internet telephony call to be made to the entity.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A system for allowing the retrieval of an email and/or web address for an entity. the system comprising: storing means storing a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses for entities; server means for receiving a unique telephone number representation: and retrieving means for retrieving an email and/or web address corresponding to the received unique telephone number representation from said storing means: wherein said server means is adapted to allow an email to be sent to the entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.
2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said server means is adapted to output the retrieved email and/or web address.
3. A system according to claim 2. wherein said server means is adapted to output the retrieved email and/or web address in a web page.
4. A system according to claim 1. wherein said server means is adapted to use the retrieved email and/or web address to generate and output a web page having hyperlinks therein to send an email to the entity and/or to the web page at the retrieved web address.
5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said server means is adapted to access and output the web page at the retrieved web address.
6. A system according to claim 1, wherein said server means is adapted to invoke the opening of an email interface to allow an email to be composed and sent to the retrieved email address.
7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said server means is adapted to output a referral to the web page at the retrieved web page address.

<Desc/Clms Page number 16>
8. A system according to claim 4 or claim 5. wherein said server means is adapted to an interface with an input window to allow the input of an additional telephone number representation for a sub entity of the entity and to receive an input additional telephone number representation; said retrieving means is adapted to retrieve an email and/or web address for the sub entity; and said server means is adapted to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.
9. A system according to any preceding claim. wherein storing means stores a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses for entities and sub entities organised hierarchically. unique telephone number representations for sub entities having a prefix common to their corresponding entities; and said server means is adapted to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address.
10. A system according to claim 9. wherein said server means is adapted to use the retrieved email and/or web address to generate an interface having an input window to allow the input of a suffix telephone number representation unique to a sub entity of the entity; said retrieving means is adapted to retrieve an email and/or web address corresponding to the input suffix telephone number representation by concatenating the suffix telephone number representation with the unique telephone number representation for the entity corresponding to the retrieved email and/or web address; and said server means is adapted to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.
11. A method of allowing the retrieval of an email and/or web address for an entity. the method comprising: receiving a unique telephone number representation at a server; and retrieving an email and/or web address corresponding to the received unique telephone number representation from a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses for entities to allow an email to be sent to the entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.

<Desc/Clms Page number 17>
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the retrieved email and/or web address is output.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the retrieved email and/or web address is output in a web page.
14. A method according to claim 11, wherein the retrieved email and/or web address is used by the server to generate and output a web page having hyperlinks therein to send an email to the entity and/or to the web page at the retrieved web address.
15. A method according to claim 11, wherein a web page at the retrieved web address is accessed and output by the server.
16. A method according to claim 11, wherein an email interface is invoked bs the server to allow an email to be composed and sent to the retrieved email address.
17. A method according to claim 11. wherein a referral to a web page at the retrieved web page address is output by the server.
18. A method according to claim 14 or claim 15. wherein the web page is output b) the server with an input window to allow the input of an additional telephone number representation for a sub entity of the entity and to receive an input additional telephone number representation; and an email and/or web address for the sub entity is retrieved using an input additional telephone number representation to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.
19. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses for entities and sub entities organised hierarchically is stored, unique telephone number representations for sub entities having a prefix common to their corresponding entities: and email and/web addresses are retrieved to allow an email to be sent to the sub entit) and/or a web page at the retrieved web address.

<Desc/Clms Page number 18>
20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the retrieved email and/or web address is used to generate an interface having an input window to allow the input of a suffix telephone number representation unique to a sub entity of the entity: and an email and/or web address corresponding to the input suffix telephone number representation is retrieved by concatenating the suffix telephone number representation with the unique telephone number representation for the entity corresponding to the retrieved email and/or web address to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.
2]. A interface to allow a user to retrieve an email and/or web address for an entity from a web site. the interface comprising: a server to allow the input of a unique telephone number representation for the entity; a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses; and a database server for retrieving a corresponding email and/or web address for the unique telephone number representation; wherein the server is operable to allow a user to send an email to the entity using the retrieved email address and/or to access a web page at the retrieved web address.
22. A interface according to claim 21, wherein said server is operative to output the retrieved email and/or web address.
23. A interface according to claim 22, wherein said server is operative to output the retrieved email and/or web address in a web page.
24. A interface according to claim 21, wherein said server is operative to use the retrieved email and/or web address to generate and output a web page having hyperlinks therein to send an email to the entity and/or to the web page at the retrieved web address.

<Desc/Clms Page number 19>
25. A interface according to claim 21. wherein said server is operative to access and output the web page at the retrieved web address.
26. A interface according to claim 21, wherein said server is operative to invoke the opening of an email interface to allow an email to be composed and sent to the retrieved email address.
27. A interface according to claim 21, wherein said server is operative to output a referral to the web page at the retrieved web page address.
28. A interface according to claim 24 or claim 25, wherein said server is operative to output the web page with an input window to allow the input of an additional telephone number representation for a sub entity of the entity and to receive an input additional telephone number representation; said database server is operative to retrieve an email and/or web address for the sub entity; and said server is operative to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.
29. A interface according to any one of claims 21 to 28. wherein database comprises a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses for entities and sub entities organised hierarchically. unique telephone number representations for sub entities having a prefix common to their corresponding entities; and said server is operable to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address.
30. A web interface according to claim 29, wherein said server is operative to use the retrieved email and/or web address to generate an interface having an input window to allow the input of a suffix telephone number representation unique to a sub entity of the entity: said database server is operative to retrieve an email and/or web address corresponding to the input suffix telephone number representation by concatenating the suffix telephone number representation with the unique telephone number representation for the entity corresponding to the retrieved email and/or web address: and said server is operative to allow an email to be sent to the sub entity and/or a web page at the retrieved web address to be accessed.

<Desc/Clms Page number 20>
31. A system for accessing information for an entity, the system comprising: storing means storing information and a unique identification code for a plurality of entities; server means for providing an interface for inputting a unique identification code for an entity ; and accessing means for accessing information corresponding to the unique identification code in said storing means : wherein said server means is adapted to generate an interface containing the information for the entity.
32. A system according to claim 31, wherein the unique identification code comprises a unique telephone number representation for the entity.
33. A system according to claim 31 or claim 32. wherein the information includes an email address and/or a web address for the entity.
34. A system according to claim 31, wherein said server means is adapted to generate the interface to include hyperlinks to the email and/or web address.
35. A system according to any one of claims 31 to 34, wherein said storing means stores information and a unique additional identification code for sub entities of at least one entity; and said server means is adapted to generate the web page to contain an input window to allow a user to input a unique additional identification code for a sub entity; said accessing means being adapted to access information corresponding to the unique additional identification code in said storing means; and said server means is adapted to generate an interface containing the information for the sub entity.
36. A system according to any one of claims 31 to 35, wherein storing means stores information and a unique identification code for a plurality of entities and a plurality of sub entities of at least one entity organised hierarchically, the unique identification code for a sub entity comprising as a prefix the unique identification code for the corresponding entity.

<Desc/Clms Page number 21>
37. A method for accessing information for an entity, the method comprising : providing an interface for inputting a unique identification code for an entity : accessing information corresponding to an input unique identification code in a database storing information and a unique identification code for a plurality of entities : and generating an interface containing the information for the entity.
38. A method according to claim 37. wherein the unique identification code comprises a unique telephone number representation for the entity.
39. A method according to claim 37 or claim 38, wherein the information includes an email address and/or a web address for the entity.
40. A method according to claim 39, wherein the interface is generated to include hyperlinks to the email and/or web address.
41. A method according to any one of claims 37 to 40, wherein said database stores information and a unique additional identification code for sub entities of at least one entity; the interface is generated to contain an input window to allow a user to input a unique additional identification code for a sub entity; information corresponding to an input unique additional identification code is accessed in said database ; and an interface containing the information for the sub entity is generated.
42. A method according to any one of claims 37 to 41. wherein database stores information and a unique identification code for a plurality of entities and a plurality of sub entities of at least one entity organised hierarchically. the unique identification code for a sub entity comprising as a prefix the unique identification code for the corresponding entity.
43. A method of accessing a web page or sending an email to an entity comprising : accessing an interface having a window for inputting a unique telephone number representation ;

<Desc/Clms Page number 22>

receiving a unique telephone number representation for an entity input on the interface and sending the received unique telephone number representation to a server to look-up a corresponding email or web address; and receiving the email or web address to allow the web page at the web address to be accessed or an email to be sent to the email address.
44. A method according to claim 43. wherein the email or web address is received as a link on a web page.
45. A method according to claim 43, wherein the email address is received as part of an invoked open email to allow a user to enter the content of the email and send the email to the entity.
46. A method according to claim 43. wherein the web address is received by the accessing of the web page.
47. A system for allowing the retrieval of an email and/or web address for an entity. the system comprising: a database of unique telephone number representations and corresponding email and/or web addresses for entities; a program memory storing program code for controlling a processor ; and a processor for implementing the program code in the program memory ; wherein the program code comprises program code for controlling the processor to carry out the method of any one of claims 11 to 20.
48. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 11 to 20.
49. A web based system for accessing information for an entity, the system comprising : a database storing information and a unique identification code for a plurality of entities; a program memory storing program code for controlling a processor ; and

<Desc/Clms Page number 23>

a processor for implementing the program code in the program memory : wherein the program code comprises program code for controlling the processor to carry out the method of any one of claims 37 to 42.
50. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 37 to 42.
51. A system for accessing a web page or sending an email to an entity comprising : a program memory storing program code for controlling a processor: and a processor for implementing the program code in the program memory : wherein the program code comprises program code for controlling the processor to carry out the method of any one of claims 43 to 46.
52. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 43 to 46.