A method operative in an overlay network having sets of server machines, and a mapping mechanism, comprising: associating an anycast IP address with one or more sets of forwarding machines positioned in the overlay network; wherein the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: responsive to receipt at a forwarding machine of a packet associated with an end user request and wherein the end user request is associated with zero-rated billing traffic, issuing an end user mapping request to the mapping mechanism, the end user mapping request having associated therewith an IP address, or a range of IP addresses, associated with the client from which the end user request originates, the IP address associated with the client being other than the IP address of a recursive name server behind which the end user request originates; receiving from the mapping mechanism at least one IP address associated with a set of one or more of the sets of server machines, the IP address of the set of one or more of the server machines being determined by the mapping mechanism based at least in part on the IP address, or the range of IP addresses, associated with the client, server machine liveness and load, and Internet traffic conditions, and wherein the at least one IP address of the set of one or more of the server machines is associated with a deployment of server machines distinct from a location of the forwarding machine; proxying, for handling by the server machine, the packet associated with the end user request for zero-rated billing traffic, the packet being proxied from the forwarding machine to the server machine; and directly returning a response to the end user request from the server machine to the client. associating an anycast IP address with one or more sets of forwarding machines positioned in the overlay network; wherein the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: responsive to receipt at a forwarding machine of a packet associated with an end user request and wherein the end user request is associated with zero-rated billing traffic, issuing an end user mapping request to the mapping mechanism, the end user mapping request having associated therewith an IP address, or a range of IP addresses, associated with the client from which the end user request originates, the IP address associated with the client being other than the IP address of a recursive name server behind which the end user request originates; receiving from the mapping mechanism at least one IP address associated with a set of one or more of the sets of server machines, the IP address of the set of one or more of the server machines being determined by the mapping mechanism based at least in part on the IP address, or the range of IP addresses, associated with the client, server machine liveness and load, and Internet traffic conditions, and wherein the at least one IP address of the set of one or more of the server machines is associated with a deployment of server machines distinct from a location of the forwarding machine; proxying, for handling by the server machine, the packet associated with the end user request for zero-rated billing traffic, the packet being proxied from the forwarding machine to the server machine; and directly returning a response to the end user request from the server machine to the client. responsive to receipt at a forwarding machine of a packet associated with an end user request and wherein the end user request is associated with zero-rated billing traffic, issuing an end user mapping request to the mapping mechanism, the end user mapping request having associated therewith an IP address, or a range of IP addresses, associated with the client from which the end user request originates, the IP address associated with the client being other than the IP address of a recursive name server behind which the end user request originates; receiving from the mapping mechanism at least one IP address associated with a set of one or more of the sets of server machines, the IP address of the set of one or more of the server machines being determined by the mapping mechanism based at least in part on the IP address, or the range of IP addresses, associated with the client, server machine liveness and load, and Internet traffic conditions, and wherein the at least one IP address of the set of one or more of the server machines is associated with a deployment of server machines distinct from a location of the forwarding machine; proxying, for handling by the server machine, the packet associated with the end user request for zero-rated billing traffic, the packet being proxied from the forwarding machine to the server machine; and directly returning a response to the end user request from the server machine to the client.