Patent ID: 6401122
Filing Date: 2002-06-04
Classification: A63F,H04L,H04N

Abstract:
A communication management apparatus for managing a joining of symbols in a virtual world in a message communication system in which a plurality of user terminals are interconnected, the plurality of user terminals sharing the virtual world comprising a plurality of virtual spaces, and the symbols each defined for the associated one of the user terminals which will join the virtual world, and messages are exchanged among a plurality of user terminals corresponding to a plurality of symbols which have entered the same virtual space,wherein said message communication system is a system in which a number of symbols, who are permitted in their simultaneous entrance in each of said plurality of virtual spaces, is set up in upper limit, and wherein said communication management apparatus comprises: queue generating means for arranging, in a case where the upper limit of number of symbols have entered any of said plurality of virtual spaces, symbol ID information specifying a symbol requesting entrance in a queue corresponding to the virtual space of interest, when a further request for entrance into the virtual space of interest occurs; and entrance management means for providing such a control that when any of the upper limit of number of symbols entered any of said plurality of virtual spaces is removed from the virtual space and when pieces of symbol ID information are set on the queue corresponding to the virtual space of interest, a symbol specified by symbol ID information set on the top of the queue is entered in the virtual space of interest, and the symbol ID information set on the top of the queue is deleted from the queue.