Patent ID: 6298374
Filing Date: 2001-10-02
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A communication management apparatus which makes a movement of a symbol of a communicating person in a virtual world follow a movement of the communicating person in the real world through a communication system in which the virtual world having a plurality of virtual spaces corresponding to the real world is constructed on a network to which a plurality of communication terminal apparatuses are connected, and the symbol of the communicating person to perform communication is operated to move from one virtual space to another virtual space, and the communication system enables exchange of messages between plural communicating persons who make their symbols join the same virtual space, said communication management apparatus comprising:virtual space data management means for managing data specifying a virtual space and identification data of a communicating person that makes the symbol thereof join said virtual space;correspondence management means for managing a position in the real world and data specifying a virtual space corresponding to the position relating each other;position detecting means for detecting a position of a communicating person in the real world; andcontrol means for controlling, in case the position detecting means detects that the communicating person moved to another position in the real world, the symbol of the communicating person to move to a virtual space corresponding to the other position in the real world.