Patent Publication Number: US-2007106670-A1

Title: Interactive communication session cookies

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is related to concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No.______ entitled USING COOKIES WITH INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION SESSIONS AND WEB SESSIONS, currently pending, and concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No.______ entitled USING INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION SESSION COOKIES IN WEB SESSIONS, currently pending, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to interactive communication sessions, and in particular to using cookies in association with interactive communication sessions.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Packet-based networks have evolved to a point where interactive communication sessions are commonplace. These interactive communication sessions may support interactive media of any type including audio, video, voice and real-time data sessions. Further, different interactive communication sessions may be associated with one another at any given time. As such, packet-based networks are capable of providing sophisticated communications that were at best impractical in the traditional public switched telephone network. The sophistication of the communications has led to the development of sophisticated communication clients, which are capable of implementing a variety of user preferences and communication functions.  
      Unfortunately, selecting or implementing the various desired functions for each interactive communication session is cumbersome. In many instances, consecutive interactive communication sessions between the same or related communication clients benefit from or require the same functions to be implemented by the communication clients. For example, each interactive communication session may require a certain type of encryption, or select communication terminals may require the implementation of certain user preferences. In many instances, criteria used to control a subsequent interactive session or a communication client during the subsequent interactive communication session should be the same as the criteria established during a prior interactive communication session.  
      Accordingly, there is a need for a technique to share information related to a prior interactive communication sessions among communication terminals and allow the communication terminals to use the information in association with subsequent communication sessions in an efficient and effective manner.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In one embodiment of the present invention, concepts similar to web cookies are applied to interactive communication sessions (ICS). In particular, an ICS cookie is created by a first communication client in association with a first interactive communication session, and delivered to a second communication client. In association with a second interactive communication session, the ICS cookie is returned to the first communication client from the second communication client, irrespective of which entity initiated the interactive communication session. The second communication client is configured to operate in a specified manner based on the ICS cookie or information associated therewith. The ICS cookie may be created or stored at or on the behalf of a particular communication client, or may be made accessible and applicable to a group of communication clients or users associated therewith. Accordingly, a given user may use the same ICS cookie on different communication clients of different communication terminals. In some embodiments, different users can use the same ICS cookie. In addition, ICS cookies can be mutually exchanged between two clients in an interactive communication session. Thus, the roles of the first and second communication clients as described above can be interchanged. Additionally, both roles can be performed concurrently by both clients in a single interactive communication session.  
      The ICS cookie may include or be associated with persistent session information, which is any type of information relating to a prior interactive communication session and useful during another interactive communication session. The persistent session information may identify aspects of the actual interactive communication session or sessions, the participating communication clients, or information shared during one or more interactive communication sessions. For example, the persistent session information may allow the first communication client to recognize that a subsequent interactive communication session is related to a first communication session, or that the subsequent interactive communication session involves a party to a prior interactive communication session. Based on this information, the first communication client may provide any number of functions, including controlling the current interactive communication session in any number of predefined ways.  
      In other embodiments, a proxy or other entity operating on behalf of the second communication client or group of communication clients may actually receive and store the ICS cookie. Upon assisting in establishing another interactive communication session with the first communication client, the proxy may return the ICS cookie to the first communication client, such that the customized operation in light of the ICS cookie can take place.  
      In another embodiment of the present invention, a web cookie or information provided in a web cookie is accessed by the first communication client and forwarded to the second communication client during an interactive communication session. The second communication client can then use the web cookie or information provided in the web cookie to operate in a defined manner. The operation may include accessing the web server that originally created and provided the web cookie to the first communication client to obtain information related to the web session. This information related to the web session can be used to provide customized operation during the interactive communication session based on the prior web session.  
      In yet another embodiment of the present invention, an ICS cookie or information in the ICS cookie can be retrieved by an associated web browser and forwarded to a web server during a web session. Accordingly, information associated with the interactive communication session, the parties thereto, or information being transferred within the interactive communication session can be used by the web server to enhance the web session. In particular, any web pages provided in response to an appropriate request may be specially configured or selected based at least in part on the ICS cookie or the information provided therein.  
      Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present invention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
      The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a block representation of a communication environment according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  provide a communication flow diagram illustrating the transfer and use of interactive communication session cookies according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  provides a communication flow diagram illustrating the transfer and use of interactive communication session cookies according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a communication flow diagram illustrating the use of web cookie information in association with an interactive communication session according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a communication flow diagram illustrating the use of interactive communication session cookie information in association with a web session according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a block representation of a communication terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a block representation of a service node according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  is a block representation of a web server according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.  
      An interactive communication session (ICS) is an active communication session between two or more communication clients. Interactive communications sessions may involve any media including audio, video, or voice communications as well as data transfer. An interactive communication session is not a web browser and server interaction where the web browser requests web pages from the server in traditional fashion.  
      An ICS cookie is a data structure for storing and sharing persistent session information. The persistent session information is any type of information that relates to a prior ICS and is useful during a subsequent ICS. In particular, the persistent session information may identify aspects of the actual interactive communication session, the participating communication clients, or information shared during one or more interactive communication sessions.  
      In general, an ICS cookie is received and stored by a first communication client or supporting proxy in association with the prior ICS and is subsequently passed to a second communication client in association with a subsequent ICS. The second communication client will operate to control the second interactive communication session or provide select functions in light of the persistent session information. Initially, the ICS cookie can be created by the second communication client or an associated client and delivered to the first communication client or supporting proxy in association with the first ICS. An ICS cookie is not a web cookie, which is provided to a web browser from a web server. The ICS cookie can be stored at a location other than the communication client.  
      The information in an ICS cookie may include the actual persistent session information, information from which the persistent session information can be derived, or information used to access the persistent session information. The time during which the persistent session information is to be persisted may be temporary or permanent with the persistence duration specified by the communication client that generated the ICS cookie. When not specifically provided in the ICS cookie, the persistent session information is stored in a location readily accessible by the second communication client based on the information provided in the ICS cookie. The persistent session information is generally referred to as ICS cookie information. The ICS cookie may provide an association between two communicating entities, wherein each entity may be a single user or a group of associated users. Each entity may be identified using one or more user identifications at a particular domain.  
      Accordingly, the ICS cookie can be retrieved from the first communication client or supporting proxy by the second communication client, which can operate in a more effective and informed manner based on the persistent session information. The ICS cookies can be shared among associated communication clients or supporting proxies as well as be retrieved by associated communication clients. Prior to delving into the details of the present invention, an overview of a communication environment capable of supporting ICS cookies is provided.  
      With reference to  FIG. 1 , a communication environment is illustrated according to one embodiment of the present invention. The communication environment is centered about a communication network  10 , which may be made up of in whole or in part a web of packet-based communication networks. The communication network  10  supports packet-based communications between various communication terminals  12 , including communication terminals  12 A- 12 C. Communication terminals  12 A and  12 B are illustrated as including communication clients  14 A and  14 B, respectively, as well as web browsers  16 A and  16 B, respectively. Communication clients  14 A and  14 B are configured to support interactive communication sessions with other communication clients  14 . Web browsers  16 A and  16 B are configured to support traditional browser functionality, such as requesting web pages from any number of web servers, including the illustrated web server  18 , which will respond by providing the appropriate web pages to the web browsers  16 A or  16 B. For the purposes of the following discussion, assume that communication terminals  12 A and  12 B are associated with User X, and communication terminal  12 C and web server  18  are associated with User Y. Communication terminal  12 C may include a communication client  14 C, which is capable of supporting interactive communication sessions with communication clients  14 , including either of communication clients  14 A or  14 B of the communication terminals  12 A or  12 B, respectively. Notably, User X or User Y may be an individual or group of individuals.  
      A service node (SN)  20  may be provided to facilitate the establishment and control of the interactive communication sessions on behalf of the communication clients  14 . In a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) environment, the service node  20  may act as a proxy on behalf of communication clients  14 A and  14 B, which are associated with communication terminals  12 A and  12 B of User X. A registrar  22  may be provided to control access to the communication network  10 . For example, the various communication clients  14  may need to register with the registrar  22  prior to initiating or terminating interactive communication sessions. The registration process may include various verification or authentication processes, which are known to those skilled in the art.  
      Turning now to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a communication flow diagram is provided to illustrate how an ICS cookie can be generated in association with a first interactive communication session by communication client  14 C and provided to communication client  14 A, which will return the ICS cookie to communication client  14 C in association with a second interactive communication session. Communication client  14 C can use the ICS cookie returned in association with the subsequent (second) interactive communication session to control an aspect of the second interactive communication session or some other function provided by the communication client  14 C. The communication flow diagram of  FIGS. 2A and 2B  also shows how the ICS cookie can be made available to communication client  14 B.  
      In association with a first interactive communication session, a Session Message is sent from communication client  14 A to communication client  14 C directly or through the service node  20 , which acts as a proxy for communication clients  14 A and  14 B (step  100 ). The Session Message may be an initiation message, an information message, or any other message occurring before, during, or after the first interactive communication session, but associated with the first interactive communication session. Communication client  14 C will receive the Session Message and process the Session Message as necessary (step  102 ). Communication client  14 C may create ICS Cookie A (step  104 ) based on some aspect of the first interactive communication session, communication client  14 A, the user associated with communication client  14 A, some aspect associated with communication client  14 C, or communication terminal  12 C. ICS Cookie A may be automatically created without the knowledge of User X, or communication client  14 C may query User X as to whether and how ICS Cookie A should be created. ICS Cookie A may be created to take on different forms or have different meanings based on any type of criteria, including direct input from User Y. Alternatively, communication client  14 C may interact with an external entity (not shown), such as a business application, to determine how to create ICS Cookie A. Once ICS Cookie A is created, communication client  14 C may send ICS Cookie A to communication client  14 A in a Session Response message sent in response to the original Session Message (step  106 ) or in an independent Session Message, such as a SIP Notify message. Communication client  14 A will store ICS Cookie A (step  108 ) on either a permanent or temporary basis. Whether on a permanent or temporary basis, communication client  14 A may send ICS Cookie A to the registrar  22  in a Register Message (step  110 ) to enable ICS cookies to be shared between associated communication clients  14 .  
      At a subsequent time, either during or after the first interactive communication session, a second interactive communication session between communication clients  14 A and  14 C is established. Communication client  14 A will check for any cookies associated with an interactive communication session related to communication client  14 C, User Y, or a group associated with communication client  14 C or User Y. Communication client  14 A may check its internal memory or access the registrar  22  by sending a Request for relevant cookies (step  112 ) and receiving any cookies, in this case, ICS Cookie A, from the registrar  22  (step  114 ). Communication client  14 A will then send ICS Cookie A to communication client  14 C in a Session Message associated with the second interactive communication session (step  116 ). Communication client  14 C will process the Session Message (step  118 ) in traditional fashion, as well as recovering and reacting to ICS Cookie A (step  120 ). Reaction to ICS Cookie A will generally trigger an action by communication client  14 C to either control itself to provide a select function, or control the second interactive communication session in a desired manner. Examples of the various ways in which the second interactive communication session may be controlled and the functions that may be provided by communication client  14 C are described further below.  
      Communication client  14 C may create an additional ICS Cookie B based on the second interactive communication session as well as perhaps the first interactive communication session (step  122 ). ICS Cookie B may be sent to communication client  14 A in a Session Response message (step  124 ). As with ICS Cookie A, ICS Cookie B may be stored permanently or temporarily in communication client  14 A (step  126 ), as well as being sent to the registrar  22  in a Register message (step  128 ). Likewise, communication client  14 C may generate an update to the original ICS cookie, ICS Cookie A, and communicate the update back to communication client  14 A in a similar fashion.  
      At this point, assume a third interactive communication session is established between communication client  14 B and communication client  14 C. Such a scenario may occur when User X changes from using communication terminal  12 A to using communication terminal  12 B. Communication client  14 B will attempt to obtain any pertinent cookies from its internal memory, and if necessary from the registrar  22  by sending a Request for cookies associated with an interactive communication session with communication client  14 C or an affiliated entity or user (step  130 ). The registrar  22  will return any pertinent cookies (step  132 ). In this instance, assume that ICS Cookies A and B are applicable for any interactive communication sessions established by either communication client  14 A or communication client  14 B with communication client  14 C. As such, communication client  14 B will access ICS Cookies A and B and send ICS Cookies A and B to communication client  14 C in a Session Message (step  134 ). Communication client  14 C will process the Session Message (step  136 ) in traditional fashion, as well as recovering and reacting to ICS Cookies A and B to control the third interactive communication session or provide an appropriate function (step  138 ).  
      In this instance, assume communication client  14 C is configured not to create a new cookie, but instead update ICS Cookies A and B (step  140 ). Accordingly, the updated ICS Cookies A and B are sent to communication client  14 B in an appropriate Session Response message (step  142 ). Communication client  14 B may permanently or temporarily store the updated ICS Cookies A and B locally (step  144 ) as well as sending the updated ICS Cookies A and B to the registrar  22  in an appropriate Register message (step  146 ).  
      From the above, the ICS cookie may be created and sent to a remote communication client  14  and then later retrieved in association with a subsequent interactive communication session. Upon retrieval, the ICS cookie can be used to control the interactive communication session or to provide other desired functions in light of the past interactions between the communication clients  14  or associated entities or users. Further, the ICS cookies may be applicable to groups of communication clients ( 14 A and  14 B). The ICS cookies may be stored on a remote network entity, such as the registrar  22 , and made available to the applicable communication clients ( 14 A and  14 B).  
      With reference to  FIG. 3 , a communication flow diagram is provided wherein the service node  20  acts as a proxy and takes a significant role in managing ICS cookies originally created and provided by a remote communication client  14 C. The service node  20  will facilitate the sharing of those ICS cookies where sharing is appropriate. Those skilled in the art will recognize that certain ICS cookies may be specific to the particular communication client or pair of communication clients engaged in an interactive communication session.  
      In association with a first interactive communication session, assume communication client  14 A sends a Session Message intended for communication client  14 C. Since the service node  20  is acting as a proxy on behalf of communication clients  14 A and  14 B, communication client  14 A will send the Session Message to service node  20  (step  200 ), which will forward the Session Message to communication client  14 C (step  202 ). Communication client  14 C will process the Session Message (step  204 ) and may create ICS Cookie A (step  206 ). ICS Cookie A is then sent in a Session Response toward communication client  14 A. The Session Response will be received by the service node  20  (step  208 ), which will store ICS Cookie A (step  210 ) and forward the Session Response, either without ICS Cookie A (as shown) or with ICS Cookie A (as demonstrated in other scenarios herein), to communication client  14 A (step  212 ).  
      Assume a second (subsequent) interactive communication session is established between communication clients  14 B and  14 C. In association with the second interactive communication session, communication client  14 B may need to send a Session Message to communication client  14 C. The Session Message is initially sent to the service node  20  (step  214 ), which will access an appropriate ICS Cookie (A) (step  216 ) and forward the Session Message, with ICS Cookie A, to communication client  14 C (step  218 ). Communication client  14 C will process the Session Message in traditional fashion (step  220 ) as well as reacting to the ICS Cookie A (step  222 ). Again, the reaction may be controlling the second interactive communication session or providing an additional function. In this instance, communication client  14 C may be configured to update ICS Cookie A (step  224 ) and then send a Session Response message including the updated ICS Cookie A toward communication client  14 B. The Session Response message will be received by the service node  20  on behalf of communication client  14 A (step  226 ), wherein the service node  20  will store the updated ICS Cookie A (step  228 ). The service node  20  will then forward the Session Response message to communication client  14 B (step  230 ). From the above, a network entity, such as a proxy, may be used to manage ICS cookies on behalf of a single communication client  14 A or a group of communication clients  14 A,  14 B. In this instance, communication clients  14 A and  14 B do not need to be aware of the presence or availability of the ICS cookies.  
      The term “cookie creator” is used herein to refer to the entity that controls the creation and delivery of an ICS cookie. The term “cookie recipient” is used to refer to the entity that receives the ICS cookie from the cookie creator. As noted above, the cookie creator and cookie recipient may take many forms, and in particular the cookie recipient may be a proxy acting on behalf of an intended recipient. Equally, those skilled in the art will recognize that the cookie creator could also be a proxy acting on behalf of a client to control the creation and delivery of an ICS cookie. The cookie creator may be preconfigured to automatically create an ICS cookie and manage any associated ICS cookie information that is stored apart from but in association with the ICS cookie. The creation of an ICS cookie may be configured to involve user interaction. As such, the cookie creator may trigger a pop-up window or other user entry screen or other mechanism on a communication terminal  12  to provide the user with the ability to set preferences or establish privileges relating to a particular ICS cookie associated with a given user, a group of ICS cookies associated with a given user, or any number of ICS cookies associated with all or certain groups of users. Tremendous flexibility in configuring ICS cookies is available. Creation of a cookie may take place during an interactive communication session, when the interactive communication session is being established or ended, or after an interactive communication session. When an ICS cookie is created after an interactive communication session has been established, the cookie creator or a user associated with the cookie creator can confirm the identity of the cookie recipient before providing an appropriate ICS cookie, which may be associated with providing the cookie recipient privileges, authentication information, or the like.  
      The cookie creator can manage ICS cookies such that the content or privileges associated with the ICS cookie can be changed during an interactive communication session or when there is no interactive communication session. For example, the privileges associated with an ICS cookie provided during a first interactive communication session may be changed prior to a subsequent interactive communication session. Thus, privileges or information may be revised or revoked by changing settings at the cookie creator, such that when the ICS cookie is returned, the response by the cookie creator is modified appropriately.  
      The cookie creator may also predefine a number of ICS cookies that can be readily selected by a user and sent to cookie recipients as appropriate. For example, preset ICS cookies may be defined for important callers, family members, friends, or business contacts. In operation, the cookie creator could send an important voice session or cookie to a cookie recipient associated with a customer. The important voice session or cookie is intended to ensure that the customer can always reach the cookie creator. However, if the customer defaults on payment or is no longer considered an important customer, the cookie creator may store information indicating that the important voice session or cookie for the customer should be responded to differently or should no longer be recognized as a valid ICS cookie. As indicated above, the ICS cookies may be stored in different locations and be associated with different communication clients  14 , which represent cookie recipients. Given the flexibility in handling ICS cookies, the present invention provides both client and location independence, if desired, for certain or all ICS cookies. For client independence, the user or group of users may access or use the same ICS cookies from any number of different communication clients  14  of the same or different communication terminals  12 . Accordingly, any number of applications running on these communication clients  14  or communication terminals  12  in general can access common ICS cookies. Location independence allows a particular user or group of users to access the same cookies from different locations, and in particular from different communication terminals  12 .  
      There are countless ways in which ICS cookies can be used. The ICS cookie information that is stored in the ICS cookies or associated with a particular ICS cookie may include but is not limited to the following: shared encryption keys, passwords or other credentials, certificates or pointers to certificates, user account information or pointers to user account information, shared work space or application information, information bearing on the willingness to accept specific types of information or constraints, such as the willingness to be recorded in conjunction with an interactive communication session, information related to a prior interactive communication session with a specific entity, information useful in helping establish a subsequent interactive communication session, useful for sharing among multiple contemporaneous interactive communication sessions, or useful in conjunction with the current interactive communication session.  
      For authentication, the ICS cookie information may define authentication keys, encryption protocols, passwords, and the like that are used in an interactive communication session. By combining the use of ICS cookies for authentication and the ability to store ICS cookies in the communication network  10 , any authentication process or encryption key exchange is made available to the user wherever the user is initiating the call, as long as access to the appropriate ICS cookie is provided.  
      The ICS cookies may also be useful in implementing network policies. The ICS cookie information may define which services are permitted to be used, such as instant messaging, multimedia calls, file sharing, or voice calls. The ICS cookie information may also bear on the relative level of trust between the respective communication clients  14 . ICS cookies can play a major role in determining how disparate user communities federate with each other. Using the ICS cookie information to define policy information has the benefit that policy mechanisms are not required to be set up at both ends of the interactive communication session. The ICS cookie information may also play a role in actually routing interactive communication sessions. For example, the ICS cookie information may be used to define where an incoming call should be forwarded. The ICS cookie information may dictate whether an incoming interactive communication session for supporting voice communications is directed to the intended user&#39;s home telephone, cellular telephone, or voicemail. Further, the ICS cookie information is generally available at the initiation of an interactive communication session, and will enable personal criteria to be taken into consideration when the interactive communication session is being established and during the interactive communication session itself.  
      The use of ICS cookies is particularly beneficial in contact center applications and collaborative interactions. The ICS cookies can increase the efficiency of contact center interactions, especially when multiple interactions are involved. Pertinent information bearing on prior interactions can be recorded in the ICS cookie information and used for subsequent interactions. In addition, the ICS cookies can deliver user or resource credentials, as well as make shared information for collaboration readily available. The ICS cookie information may be used to find the most appropriate resource in situations where multiple agents are associated with the cookie creator. For example, if certain user agents are available for computer support and others are available for printer support, the ICS cookie information may indicate that the prior session related to computer issues, and as such, an interactive communication session should be directed to an agent capable of handling the computer issues, or the actual agent that assisted the user in the prior interactive communication session.  
      The ICS cookies may enable different policies to be implemented for different parties in a multi-party interactive communication session, such as a conference call. For example, all of the parties may be able to participate in the voice call, while only a subset of the parties can share files or participate in an instant messaging session associated with the conference call.  
      Further applications taking advantage of ICS cookies follow. The ICS cookie information may be used to allow a call center to automatically retrieve the caller&#39;s history and determine whether the current interactive communication session is a follow-up inquiry or a new inquiry. In this instance, an important customer might be given a priority cookie or have priority information associated with the ICS cookie information to allow the customer to be placed higher in the queue of callers or be routed to a certain agent or group of agents.  
      In multiple session environments or single session environments, including those relating to transactions, an unintentionally interrupted interactive communication session can be restarted and the ICS cookie information may be used to allow the new interactive communication session to resume and provide the cookie creator with sufficient information to resume the transaction where it was left off. In this vein, cookie creators could recognize returning or abandoned callers and retrieve information related to how long they were on hold. These callers could be given priority or be given credit for their previous wait periods.  
      The ICS cookie information may be used to establish any number of personal preferences for the cookie recipient, as well as store automation information to assist in initiating an interactive communication session or logging in to the system associated with the cookie creator. For example, login information for a voicemail system may be provided in the ICS cookie information. The ICS cookie information may be updated when repeated attempts to establish an interactive communication session with someone fail. The failed attempts may be tracked and updated in the ICS cookie information, wherein an appropriate response may be initiated from the cookie creator or the cookie recipient.  
      In one embodiment, the cookie recipient is able to populate the ICS cookie with certain information. For example, the cookie recipient may provide personal data associated with the cookie recipient in the ICS cookie. The personal data may include a name, address, customer account, financial account, credit card, debit card, or other types of information. Accordingly, when the ICS cookie is returned or provided to a particular entity by the cookie recipient, the information provided by the cookie recipient can be automatically retrieved and used in a secure and accurate fashion. Such an embodiment would allow the efficient checking of existing information and updating any information that has changed from one interactive communication session to another. In these embodiments, the ICS cookies may need to be encrypted or at least have certain of the ICS cookie information contained in the ICS cookies encrypted.  
      Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the communication flow diagram of  FIG. 4 . In particular, web cookies, which are non-ICS cookies associated with a browser session, are subsequently obtained by communication client  14 A and provided to a remote communication client  14 C in association with an interactive communication session. Based on the web cookie information, communication client  14 C may control the interactive communication session or provide appropriate functions. For example, communication client  14 C may use the web cookie information to access information pertaining to a prior web session and use that web session information to control the interactive communication session or provide an appropriate function. Numerous examples of how the web cookie information can be used in association with an interactive communication session are provided below, after a review of the communication flow diagram of  FIG. 4 .  
      Initially, assume that web browser  16 A of communication terminal  12 A is engaged in a browsing session with the web server  18 . During this browsing session, web browser  16 A may send a Request for a defined web page to the web server  18  (step  300 ), which may create a web cookie (step  302 ) and send the requested page along with the web cookie to web browser  16 A (step  304 ). The web cookie is a traditional web cookie, which is associated with a domain or web site provided by the web server  18 . The web cookie will include a value or other information that can subsequently be used by the web server  18  to cater a web session for User X or at least for web browser  16 A in traditional fashion. Although not depicted, web browser  16 A would return the web cookie to the web server  18  during a subsequent session, wherein the web server  18  would respond in a particular manner based on the information in or associated with the web cookie. Once a web cookie is received by web browser  16 A, the web cookie is generally stored in association with an identity of the user as reported by the operating system or web browser  16 A itself (step  306 ).  
      For the current example, assume that communication client  14 A is triggered to initiate an interactive communication session with communication client  14 C, which is associated with User Y and the web server  18  (step  308 ). In this embodiment, communication client  14 A is able to access the web cookies stored in association with web browser  16 A. Communication client  14 A may be able to identify web cookies that may be related to communication client  14 C. In this instance, the web server  18  and communication terminal  12 C, which supports communication client  14 C, are associated. The name of the file for the web cookie may have a portion in common or associated with the uniform resource identifier or uniform resource locator (URL) of communication client  14 C. Regardless of the configuration, communication client  14 A will access web browser  16 A or the location where web cookies are stored to obtain any web cookies that may be useful for an interactive communication session with communication client  14 C.  
      In the illustrated embodiment, communication client  14 A will send a Request for web cookie information to web browser  16 A (step  310 ), which will access any appropriate web cookies (step  312 ) and provide the web cookie or web cookie information to communication client  14 A (step  314 ). In association with the interactive communication session, communication client  14 A will send a Session Message toward communication client  14 C directly or indirectly through an appropriate proxy (step  316 ). The Session Message will include the web cookie information, which may be information within a web cookie or the web cookie itself. Communication client  14 C may respond with a Session Response, which may, but does not have to, include an ICS cookie as described above (step  318 ). Communication client  14 C will detect the web cookie information provided in the Session Message (step  320 ). Communication client  14 C may then request web session information from the web server  18  based on the web cookie information (step  322 ). The web server  18  may determine the web session information based on the web cookie information (step  324 ) and provide the web session information back to communication client  14 C (step  326 ). Communication client  14 C would then react to the web cookie information or the web session information as desired to control the interactive communication session or provide an appropriate function related to the interactive communication session or the prior web session (step  328 ). In subsequent interactive communication sessions, an ICS cookie could be returned by communication client  14 A to communication client  14 C, wherein control of the interactive communication session or the provision of additional functions may be based on web cookie information, the web session information, the ICS cookie, or any combination thereof.  
      When sending web cookie information in association with an interactive communication session, those skilled in the art will recognize numerous situations in which this aspect of the present invention is beneficial. Assume that a user has been browsing various web pages to obtain travel information and subsequently decides to call the customer service center of the travel agency associated with the web site. During the web session, web browser  16 A may have received a web cookie from the travel agency&#39;s web server. The travel agency&#39;s web server, in addition to providing the web cookie, may have kept track of the web pages that were browsed or any other particular information obtainable for the web session and store this information in association with the web cookie information provided in the web cookie. Upon initiating an interactive communication session with the travel agency, communication client  14 A would access the web cookie and provide the web cookie information, which may include the web cookie itself or information inside the web cookie, to communication client  14 C. Communication client  14 C may use the web cookie information to access the stored information on the web server  18  associated with the travel agency. Accordingly, the customer service agent may be able to more quickly assist the caller.  
      A similar scenario uses the present invention to retrieve information regarding abandoned electronic shopping carts, wherein the user that abandoned the shopping cart subsequently calls a call center for the entity associated with the web site where the shopping cart was abandoned. Accordingly, the company or customer service agent can quickly determine that the caller has abandoned a shopping cart, and may be able to quickly and efficiently assist the customer and query the customer about the abandoned shopping cart or the items therein. Similarly, the user may have initiated a web session and may have begun filling out forms on a web page, and subsequently abandoned the attempt to fill out the forms upon running into an issue or not being able to provide certain of the requested information. With the present invention, the user may abandon the form partway through and initiate an interactive communication session with a customer service agent associated with the web site, wherein the customer service agent can retrieve the information that was provided before the user abandoned the form. Accordingly, the user would not have to repeat the information already provided on the web site during the interactive communication session.  
      Those skilled in the art will recognize additional extensions and applications of these aspects of the present invention. Notably, an ICS cookie may be provided during a web session and returned during a subsequent interactive communication session.  
      A corollary to the previous embodiment allows ICS cookie information to be provided during a web session. As such, information provided in the ICS cookie or associated therewith can be readily retrieved by the web server  18  during a web session. The ICS cookie information may have information bearing on user preferences, information discussed or exchanged during the interactive communication session, or like information that could assist a web server  18  in determining how to respond to requests provided by a web browser  16 .  
      Turning now to  FIG. 5 , a communication flow diagram is illustrated for an embodiment wherein ICS cookie information is provided to a web server  18  during a web session. In association with an interactive communication session, assume that communication client  14 A sends a Session Message to communication client  14 C (step  400 ), which creates an ICS cookie (step  402 ) and forwards the ICS cookie in a Session Response to communication client  14 A (step  404 ). Communication client  14 A will store the ICS cookie either locally or at the registrar  22  (step  406 ). Subsequently, User X will initiate a web session via web browser  16 A (step  408 ), which may request or otherwise access ICS cookie information associated with communication client  14 A (step  410 ). Communication client  14 A will provide or otherwise make available ICS cookie information to web browser  16 A (step  412 ). Web browser  16 A, communication client  14 A, or both web browser  16 A and communication client  14 A will be able to identify ICS cookies that may relate to the web session based on the name of the file storing the ICS cookie or the contents of the ICS cookie.  
      Web browser  16 A may then send a Request to the web server  18  for a given web page (step  414 ). The Request may include the ICS cookie information, which may include information in the ICS cookie or the ICS cookie itself, as well as any existing web cookie associated with the web page being requested. The web server  18  will detect the presence of the ICS cookie information (step  416 ) and then access any related ICS information based on the ICS cookie information from communication client  14 C or from an associated entity (not shown), such as a business application server that may have access to this information. For example, the web server  18  may send a request for the ICS information to communication client  14 C (step  418 ), which will determine the ICS information based on the ICS cookie information (step  420 ) and provide the ICS information back to the web server  18  (step  422 ). The web server  18  will then react to the ICS information or the ICS cookie information (step  424 ). The web server  18  may also take into consideration any web cookies. Functionality based on the web cookie, the ICS cookie information, or the ICS information may be used to control the web session in much the same fashion as a web cookie may be used to control a web session. The availability of the ICS information or the ICS cookie information allows for taking into consideration additional criteria related to a prior interactive communication session to control the web session, instead of merely using information related to prior web sessions. Further, the web server  18  may be able to directly evaluate the ICS cookie and take certain actions.  
      With reference to  FIG. 6 , a basic communication terminal  12  is illustrated. The communication terminal  12  may include a control system  24  having sufficient memory  26  for the requisite data  28  and software  30  to operate as described above. The software  30  may be used to implement the communication client  14  or web browser  16  and control the operation thereof as described above. The control system  24  may be associated with a communication interface  32  to facilitate communications directly or indirectly with the communication network  10 , as well as a user interface  34  to facilitate interactions with the corresponding user.  
      With reference to  FIG. 7 , a service node  20  is illustrated as having a control system  36  associated with memory  38 . The memory  38  will include the data  40  and software  42  necessary to operate as described above. The control system  36  is further associated with a communication interface  44  to facilitate interaction with the communication network  10 .  
      With reference to  FIG. 8 , a web server  18  is illustrated as having a control system  46  associated with memory  48 . The memory  48  will include the data  50  and software  52  necessary to operate as described above. The control system  46  is further associated with a communication interface  54  to facilitate interaction with the communication network  10 .  
      Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.