A method for generating a plurality of addresses (h) for a network element of a communication network, wherein 1a) the communication network is a network in which messages are transferred between network elements in packets, using a protocol used in the Internet; 1b) the addresses are IPv6 addresses; 1c) the existing identifiers of the network elements are MAC addresses of the network interfaces of said network elements, characterized by the following steps: 2a) generating a virtual interface identifier (c) for each address to be generated, by combining the existing identifier (a) of the respective network element as a globally unique information with at least one local additional information (b), which is unique within the host, wherein the virtual interface identifier has a middle portion and the local additional information is used to generate the middle portion, in order to generate virtual interface identifiers distinguishable within a host; wherein, in order to generate the virtual interface identifier from the MAC address of the network element, an interface identifier following the EUI-64 format, which has a fixed middle portion and which has been generated according to the method described in RFC 2464, is modified by replacing the fixed middle portion OxFFFE with the middle portion which has been generated using the local additional information; 2b) generating an address (d) from the generated virtual interface identifier (c); 2c) reviewing the virtual interface identifiers thus generated or the addresses generated from said virtual interface identifiers for the presence of a collision; 2d) discarding colliding virtual interface identifiers or the addresses generated from said virtual interface identifiers. 1a) the communication network is a network in which messages are transferred between network elements in packets, using a protocol used in the Internet; 1b) the addresses are IPv6 addresses; 1c) the existing identifiers of the network elements are MAC addresses of the network interfaces of said network elements, 2a) generating a virtual interface identifier (c) for each address to be generated, by combining the existing identifier (a) of the respective network element as a globally unique information with at least one local additional information (b), which is unique within the host, wherein the virtual interface identifier has a middle portion and the local additional information is used to generate the middle portion, in order to generate virtual interface identifiers distinguishable within a host; wherein, in order to generate the virtual interface identifier from the MAC address of the network element, an interface identifier following the EUI-64 format, which has a fixed middle portion and which has been generated according to the method described in RFC 2464, is modified by replacing the fixed middle portion OxFFFE with the middle portion which has been generated using the local additional information; 2b) generating an address (d) from the generated virtual interface identifier (c); 2c) reviewing the virtual interface identifiers thus generated or the addresses generated from said virtual interface identifiers for the presence of a collision; 2d) discarding colliding virtual interface identifiers or the addresses generated from said virtual interface identifiers. <EOS>