Users call a toll-free number and speak commands to navigate the Internet.
Tellme Networks has built a voice portal that allows users to choose from various categories of information, including stock quotes, weather reports, and restaurant and movie listings. Using speech recognition technology, the portal takes in a caller's selection, finds the requested information online, and reads the information aloud. Voice portal developers expect to eventually create voice sites that users would navigate by speaking keywords. Voice portals could help narrow the digital divide since telephones are so widely available and easy to use.