Patent Publication Number: US-2011065475-A1

Title: Method for accessing to external site for each country and mobile communication terminal using the same

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-86205, filed on Sep. 13, 2009, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a method for accessing to an external site and a mobile communication terminal for use with the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for accessing an external site for use of a service provided for each country and a mobile communication terminal using the same. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Recently, multinational companies provide the various countries in which they do business with corporate services, that include access to Internet sites to request and obtain many of such services. Accordingly, the same service is provided to each of the various countries in which they do business through Internet sites or mobile service sites. In this case, a user should access to a site by selecting a desired country service or inputting an address of the site corresponding to his or her country in order to obtain a desired service for the country. 
     If a user accesses an Internet service using a cellular phone, the user typically has to perform a number of processes just to select a desired country service and thus pays connection expenses for these services. 
     User&#39;s of such services want and would benefit by the ability to access a desired country&#39;s service with a minimal amount of processes and expenses to receive such services. Therefore, there is a need in the art for methods that allows a user, particular a user of a mobile communication terminal, the ability to access a site which provides a service for his or her country easily. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a method for accessing an external site which provides a service for a country corresponding to country (national) information extracted from a subscriber identification card, and a mobile communication terminal using the same. 
     In another exemplary aspect of the invention, a method for a mobile communication terminal having a memory with a subscriber identification module containing information to gain access to an external site over a network, the method comprising: extracting country information from the subscriber identification module; and accessing an external site which provides a service corresponding to a country identified in the extracted country information. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method that a mobile communication terminal having a subscriber identification card to provide access to an external site, the method including extracting country information from the subscriber identification card; and accessing an external site which provides one or more services associated with a particular country corresponding to the extracted country information. 
     According to another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the accessing may preferably include generating an address of an external site corresponding to the country information identified in the extracted country information; and accessing the external site which provides a service for the country using the generated address. 
     According to yet another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the address may also preferably include, for example, a domain name or a uniform resource locator (URL) having an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an external site which provides a service for the particular country identified in the extracted information. 
     According to still another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the accessing may also preferably include transmitting a request for accessing an external site and the extracted country information associated with the external site; receiving an address of an external site corresponding to the country information from the external site; and accessing the external site which provides a service for the country using the received address. 
     According to still another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the transmitting request may preferably transmit the request for accessing an external site and the extracted country information to the external site only when initially requesting access to the external site. 
     According to still another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the transmitting request may preferably transmit the request for accessing an external site and the extracted country information to the external site whenever the external site is about to be or is in the process of being accessed. 
     According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, the subscriber identification card may include a any type of card, including but in no way limited to a subscriber identity module (SIM) card or a universal subscriber identity mobile (USIM) card. 
     According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, the identification module does not have to be resident on a SIM card and can be stored in a memory of the mobile communication device or provided by the service provider. 
     According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, the extracting of country information may preferably including extract the country information from international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the SIM card or the USIM card. In addition, it is possible that more than one country, for example, a primary and a secondary are identified. In addition, the country information may include a mobile country code (MCC). 
     In another exemplary embodiment of the invention a mobile communication terminal, comprises: a connection unit to which a storage medium having subscriber identification thereon storage is coupled thereto; a communication unit which is coupled with an external site via a network so that the external site is accessed by the communication unit; and a controlling unit which controls the communication unit to extract country information from the subscriber identification information for accessing a particular version of the external site providing a service for a country corresponding to the extracted country information. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a mobile communication terminal, including a connection unit to which a subscriber identification card is mounted; a communication unit which is connected to an external site for the communication unit to obtain accesses to the external site; and a controlling unit for controlling the communication unit to extract country information from the subscriber identification card and to access to an external site providing a service of a country corresponding to the extracted country information. 
     According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, the controlling unit may preferably generate an address of an external site corresponding to the country information using the extracted country information, and access the external site which provides a service for the country using the generated address. 
     According to another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the address may preferably include a domain name or a uniform resource locator (URL) having an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an external site which provides a service for the country. 
     According to yet another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the control unit may control the communication unit to transmit a request for accessing to an external site and the extracted country information to the external site, to receive an address of the external site corresponding to the country information from the external site, and to access the external site that provides a service for the country using the address. 
     According to still another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the controlling unit may preferably control the request for accessing an external site and the extracted country information to be transmitted to the external site only when initially accessing to the external site. 
     According to even another exemplary aspect of the present invention, the controlling unit may control the request for accessing an external site and the extracted country information to be transmitted to the external site whenever accessing to the external site. 
     In addition, the subscriber identification card may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card or a universal subscriber identity mobile (USIM) card. 
     Moreover, the controlling unit may extract the country information from international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the SIM card or the USIM card. Moreover, the country information could be preloaded in the phone in a memory or module in lieu of or in addition to storage on a IMSI or SIM card, and the country information can be updated or confirmed by a user, and/or defaults changed by a user as desired. 
     The country information may preferably include a mobile country code (MCC). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and/or other exemplary aspects of the present invention will become more apparent by describing certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a mobile communication terminal and an application providing server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3A  is a flowchart provided to explain a method that a mobile communication terminal accesses to an external site when the mobile communication terminal generates a site address according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is a view provided to further explain the method shown in  FIG. 3A , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4A  is a flowchart provided to explain a method that a mobile communication terminal accesses to an external site when the mobile communication terminal receives a generated address from the external site according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4B  is a view provided to further explain the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a view illustrating the operation of inputting a command for accessing to an external site according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  shows a screen of accessing to a site which provides a service for United States of America (USA) when a subscriber identity module (SIM) card stores “USA” as country information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  shows a screen of accessing to a site which provides a service for Korea when a subscriber identity module (SIM) card stores “Korea” as country information according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so as to aid a person of ordinary skill in the art to understand and practice the claimed invention without undue experimentation. 
     In the following description, the same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements even in different drawings. The matters defined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements, are provided to assist the person of ordinary skill in the art with a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention can be carried out without those specifically defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail when they might obscure appreciation of the present invention by the person of ordinary skill in the art with unnecessary detail about such well-known functions or constructions. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a mobile communication terminal  100  and an application providing server  150  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the mobile communication terminal  100  is connected to the application providing server  150  and receives a list of applications and application data. Although the drawing shows a direct connection to the server, a person of ordinary skill in the art understands and appreciates that it is within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims that the mobile communication terminal could be in communication with a proxy server that provides a gateway for access (or provides some of the commonly used services for load balancing) or could be in communication with a base station or other type of intermediary entity that relays the information to the application server. 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  is connected to the application providing server  100  via Internet or mobile communication network. The mobile communication terminal  100  may use application download services provided by the application providing server  150 . 
     More specifically, the mobile communication terminal  100  displays a site being provided by the application providing server  150  typically through a wireless application protocol (WAP) browser. The WAP is an open international standard for application-layer network communications in a wireless-communication environment to execute Internet communication provided from a mobile communication terminal or application provided from a computer. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal  100  is connected through or to the application providing server  150  using the WAP, and accesses to a site provided by the application providing server  150 . 
     The application providing server  150  may provide the mobile communication terminal  100  with application. The application providing server  150  may provide a link to a site or host a site for each country to provide the same service. For example, the application providing server  150  may provide a link to a site or host a site to provide a service for USA, Korea, and Japan, respectively. The site for USA may be implemented to provide an application written in English, the site for Korea may be implemented to provide an application written in Korean and English, and the site for Japan may be implemented to provide an application written in Japanese, just as possible non-limiting examples. 
     As described above, the application providing server  150  provides links to sites and/hosts sites for various countries to provide the same service. 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  extracts country information from a subscriber identification card. The mobile communication terminal  100  accesses an external site which provides a country service corresponding to the country information extracted from the subscriber identification card. Herein, the external site represents a site in which the application providing server  150  provides a service or link for each country. 
     The subscriber identification card represents a card which stores subscriber information of the mobile communication terminal  100 . The subscriber identification card preferably includes a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and/or a universal subscriber identity mobile (USIM) card. In the case of non-SIM phones, this information may be stored in the memory of the phone itself 
     The SIM card comprises a card inserted into a group special mobile (GSM) communication terminal to identify a user. The SIM card stores subscriber information. Accordingly, a user may use/personalize the mobile communication terminal  100  under his or her ownership by inserting his or her own SIM card into the mobile communication terminal  100 . 
     The USIM card, which is a user identification card for a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) mobile communication terminal, may be referred to as a UIM card. The USIM card is based on a SIM card used in a GSM communication terminal. 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  may automatically access an external site which provides a country (national) service corresponding to country information extracted from the subscriber identification card. Accordingly, according to the present invention, a user may access a site which provides a service for his or her country using the mobile communication terminal  100  without an additional operation for selecting his or her country. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the mobile communication terminal  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the mobile communication terminal  100  preferably comprises a communication unit  210 , a manipulation unit  220 , a connection unit  230 , a SIM card  240 , a storage unit  250 , a display  260 , and a controlling unit  270 . A person of ordinary skill in the art understands and appreciates that the mobile communication terminal could be provided without a SIM card, that is separately or subsequently inserted by a user to permit certain functionality to the mobile communication terminal. Also, some mobile communication terminals could have a memory or portion thereof set aside (dedicated) to store and or update the information on a SIM card. 
     The communication unit  210  is connected to an external site over mobile communication network or Internet so that the communication unit  210  accesses the external site. The communication unit  210  preferably comprises a mobile communication unit  213  and a sub-communication unit  216 . 
     The mobile communication unit  213  is in communication with the application providing server  150  over a mobile communication network. Herein, the mobile communication network may comprise, for example, a GSM communication network or a WCDMA communication network. 
     The sub-communication unit  216  is connected to the application providing server  150  over the Internet for communication with each other. The sub-communication unit  216  may be implemented using a wireless local area network (WLAN). 
     The manipulation unit  220 , which may comprise a keypad, touch screen, or an input device such as a mouse or joystick, stylus, etc., receives user&#39;s manipulation and transmits it to the controlling unit  270 . In more detail, a user operates the manipulation unit  220  in order to access a site or to select an application. The manipulation unit  220  may include buttons or a touchscreen provided on the mobile communication terminal  100 . 
     The connection unit  230  comprises an interface having a slot into which a subscriber identification card is inserted. Specifically, the connection unit  230  comprises an intermediate element that couples the controlling unit  270  with the SIM card  240 . The controlling unit  270  establishes or terminates a session with the SIM card  240  through the connection unit  230 , stores information in the SIM card  240 , and reads information stored in the SIM card  240 . 
     The SIM card  240  comprises a small chip card which is mounted on the mobile communication terminal  100  of a GSM scheme to identify a user. The SIM card  240  stores subscriber information, and the subscriber information includes information regarding a country. Specifically, the SIM card  240  stores subscriber information using international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI). The IMSI includes country information which is typically represented as a mobile country code (MCC). For example, the MCC for Korea is  450 , the MCC for Japan is  440 ,  441 , and the MCC for USA is  310  to  316 . 
     The SIM card  240  is used for the subscriber identification card in this exemplary embodiment of the present invention, but the USIM card may also be used. Again, there are mobile communication devices that may have a memory in lieu of the SIM or USIM card that stores the pertinent information regarding country or country codes. This memory could be part of the storage unit  250  or a separate memory module. 
     The storage unit  250  stores programs to execute various operations of the mobile communication terminal  100 . The storage unit  250  may store, for example, application programs received from the application providing server  150 . The storage unit  250  may be implemented using a hard disc drive, a non-volatile memory, and so on. 
     The display  260  displays an image to show operations of the mobile communication terminal  100 . The display  260  displays sites provided by the application providing server  150  on a screen. The display  260  displays a graphical user interface (GUI) to enable a user to operate the mobile communication terminal  100  on a screen. The display may comprised be a touch screen, in which case the manipulation unit and display could be a single entity, or might permit touching the screen for some functions but pushing/pressing buttons for other functions (or providing the user with a choice as to whether they wish to touch the screen or use the keypads as opposed to a virtual keypad). 
     The controlling unit  270  controls overall operations of the mobile communication terminal  100 . The controlling unit  270  extracts country information from the SIM card  240 , and controls the communication unit  210  so that the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses an external site which provides a service corresponding to the extracted country. 
     Specifically, the SIM card  240  stores information regarding a subscriber such as an IMSI. The IMSI includes country information using an MCC. Accordingly, the controlling unit  270  obtains information regarding a subscriber&#39;s country from the SIM card  240  by extracting the MCC included in the IMSI of the SIM card  240 . 
     The controlling unit  270  generates an address of a corresponding external site using the extracted country information, and accesses the external site which provides a service corresponding to the country using the generated address. In more detail, the controlling unit  270  may directly generate a site address for each country to provide a specific service provided by the application providing server  150 . The site address may comprise a domain name, or may comprise a uniform resource locator (URL) having an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an external site which provides a service for a corresponding country. For example, if a domain name of the application providing server  150  is “Astore,” the controlling unit  270  generates an address of a site, “www.Astore.com,” which provides a service for USA, an address of a site, “www.Astore.co.kr,” which provides a service for Korea, and an address of a site, “www.Astore.co.jp,” which provides a service for Japan. 
     Alternatively, the controlling unit  270  may receive a site address corresponding to a specific country from the application providing server  150 , and access an external site which provides a service corresponding to the specific country using the received site address, instead of generating a site address of a specific country. Specifically, the request for accessing an external site and the extracted country information are transmitted to the external site under the control of the controlling unit  270 . The controlling unit  270  receives an address of an external site corresponding to the country information from the external site in response to the request for access to the external site. The controlling unit  270  controls the communication unit  210  to access an external site which provides a corresponding country service using the received address. 
     For example, the controlling unit  270  transmits the request for accessing a site providing an application service and country information regarding Korea to the application providing server  150 . The application providing server  150  transmits a site address for Korea, that is, “www.Astore.co.kr” to the mobile communication terminal  100 . Accordingly, the controlling unit  270  receives a site address, “www.Astore.co.kr,” and accesses the site “www.Astore.co.kr.” 
     The controlling unit  270  may directly generate a site address corresponding to the extracted country information, or may also receive a generated address from an external site. 
     As described above, the mobile communication terminal  100  may automatically access an external site which provides a country service corresponding to country information extracted from a subscriber identification card. Accordingly, a user may access a site, which provides a service for his or her country, using the mobile communication terminal  100  without an additional operation for selecting his or her country. 
     Herein below, a method by which the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses an external site will be explained with reference to  FIGS. 3A to 4B . 
       FIG. 3A  is a flowchart to provided an operational overview of an exemplary method of the present invention. In this exemplary method, the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses an external site when the mobile communication terminal  100  generates a site address.  FIG. 3B  is a view provided for further explanation of the method shown in  FIG. 3A , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 3A , the mobile communication terminal  100  receives a command for accessing an external site from a user via the manipulation unit  220  (S 310 ). For example, if a user touches an icon  300  to gain access to an external site, as shown in  FIG. 3B , the mobile communication terminal  100  receives a command for accessing an external site. 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  extracts the country information from a user identification card (S 320 ) or storage in the case where the mobile communication unit does not have a SIM card of USIM card. Herein, the user identification card may preferably comprise either the SIM card  240  or the USIM card. Specifically, the SIM card  240  and the USIM card store subscriber information using IMSI. The IMSI includes country information using an MCC. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal  100  extracts an MCC from the IMSI of the SIM card  240  and the USIM card, and thus obtains country information of a subscriber. 
     For example, referring to  FIG. 3B , “Korea” is registered to the SIM card  240  mounted on the mobile communication terminal  100  as country information. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal  100  extracts “Korea” as country information. 
     At (S 330 ), the mobile communication terminal  100  generates an address of an external site corresponding to country information using the extracted country information (S 330 ). Specifically, the mobile communication terminal  100  generates a site address corresponding to the extracted country information for a service to be provided by the application providing server  150 . Herein, the site address may be a domain name or a URL having an IP address of an external site which provides a service for a corresponding country. For example, if a domain name of the application providing server  150  is “Astore,” the mobile communication terminal  100  generates an address of a site, “www.Astore.com,” which provides a service for USA, an address of a site, “www.Astore.co.kr,” which provides a service for Korea, and an address of a site, “www.Astore.co.jp,” which provides a service for Japan. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3B , as the country information extracted from the SIM card  240  is “Korea,” the mobile communication terminal  100  may generate “www.Astore.co.kr” as an address of a site which provides a service for Korea. 
     At (S 340 ), the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses an external site which provides a service for a corresponding country using the generated address. In  FIG. 3B , the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses the Korea site of the application providing server  150  using the generated address, “www.Astore.co.kr.” 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  may directly generate a site address for each country. 
     Herein below, an exemplary method for receiving a site address for each country from an external site will be explained with reference to  FIGS. 4A and 4B .  FIG. 4A  is a flowchart provided to explain a method that the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses to an external site when the mobile communication terminal  100  receives a generated address from the external site according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 4B  is a view provided to further explain the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  receives a command for accessing an external site from a user using the manipulation unit  220  (S 410 ). For example, if a user touches an icon  400  to gain access to an external site, as shown in  FIG. 4B , the mobile communication terminal  100  receives a command for accessing the external site. 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  then extracts country information from a subscriber identification card (S 420 ). Herein, the subscriber identification card may be the SIM card  240  or the USIM card, or an area of storage containing this information. Specifically, the SIM card  240  and the USIM card store subscriber information using the IMSI. The IMSI includes country information using an MCC. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal  100  may obtain information regarding a subscriber&#39;s country by extracting an MCC included in the IMSI of the SIM card  240  and the USIM card. 
     For example, referring to  FIG. 4B , “Korea” is registered to the SIM card  240  mounted on the mobile communication terminal  100  as country information. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal  100  extracts “Korea” as country information. 
     With continued reference to  FIG. 4A , the mobile communication terminal  100  transmits the request for accessing a site and the extracted country information to the application providing server  150  (S 430 ). The application providing server  150  generates a site address to provide a service for a country corresponding to the received country information. For example, if a domain name of the application providing server  150  is “Astore” the application providing server  150  generates an address of a site, “www.Astore.com,” which provides a service for USA, an address of a site, “www.Astore.co.kr,” which provides a service for Korea, and an address of a site, “www.Astore.co.jp,” which provides a service for Japan. 
     The application providing server  150  transmits the generated address to the mobile communication terminal  100 . The mobile communication terminal  100  receives the address of an external site corresponding to the country information from the application providing server  150  (S 440 ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 4B , the mobile communication terminal  100  transmits the request for accessing a site and the country information regarding “Korea” to the application providing server  150  (S 430 ). Since the country information received from the SIM card  240  is “Korea,” the application providing server  150  may generate a site address to provide a service for Korea to be “www.Astore.co.kr.” The application providing server  150  may transmit the generated site address, “www.Astore.co.kr” to the mobile communication terminal  100  (S 440 ). 
     The mobile communication terminal  100  gains accesses to the external site which provides a service for a corresponding country by using the generated address (S 450 ). Referring to  FIG. 4B , the mobile communication terminal  100  accesses to the Korea site of the application providing server  150  using the generated address, “www.Astore.co.kr.” 
     As described above, the mobile communication terminal  100  may receive a site address for each country from an external site. 
     Hereinbelow, screens for accessing a site to provide application for each country will be explained with reference to  FIGS. 5 to 7 .  FIG. 5  is a view illustrating the operation of inputting a command for accessing to an external site according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     If a user touches an icon  500  to gain access to an external site displayed on a screen of the mobile communication terminal  100 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , the mobile communication terminal  100  attempts to access the external site. The mobile communication terminal  100  may display a site to provide the application on the screen, as shown in  FIG. 6  or  7 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a screen of accessing to a site which provides a service for USA when a SIM card  640  stores “USA” as country information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring again to  FIG. 6 , a USA site of “A-Store” to provide an application service includes a name display area  610 , an address display area  620 , and application lists  630 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , “USA” is registered to the SIM card  640  mounted on the mobile communication terminal  100  as country information. Accordingly, “A-Store” of a site name and “USA” of country information are displayed on the name display area  610 , and “www.Astore.com” of a site address for USA is displayed on the address display area  620 . In addition, the application lists  630  are provided in English. 
       FIG. 7  shows a screen of accessing to a site which provides a service for Korea when a SIM card  740  stores “Korea” as country information, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 7 , a Korea site of “A-Store” to provide an application service includes a name display area  710 , an address display area  720 , and application lists  730 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , “Korea” is registered to the SIM card  740  mounted on the mobile communication terminal  100  as country information. Accordingly, “A-Store” of a site name and “Korea” of country information are displayed on the name display area  710 , and “www.Astore.co.kr” of a site address for Korea is displayed on the address display area  720 . In addition, the application lists  730  are provided in Korean. 
     As described above, a user may access a site of his or her country by touching only the icon  500  to access to an external site. 
     In this exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an application providing server is a server to provide an external site, but other servers to provide sites for various countries may also be an application providing server. 
     According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a method for automatically accessing to an external site which provides a service for each country corresponding to country information extracted from a subscriber identification card and a mobile communication terminal using the same are provided. Accordingly, a user may access a site that provides a service for his or her country using a mobile communication terminal without an additional operation for selecting a country. 
     The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, in the United States there are a considerable number of people whose spoken and written language is Spanish, which is not the primary language of the country (i.e. non-primary). The present invention includes that the external site which provides a service corresponding to a country identified in the extracted country information can provides the service in a non-primary language or dialect associated with the identified country, or a language of the user&#39;s preference. Thus, a Korean citizen who is visiting China can access the Korean language version of the external site. Similarly, the person who prefers Spanish in the United States can access the Spanish language version of the external site.