Patent ID: 7729924

Claim:
A virtual knowledge management system using a computer, comprising: a virtual knowledge base which stores a plurality of objects that are data entities for respective utilization by a plurality of users, and that belong to different object types, and control data that is provided corresponding to each of said object types, and that relates to the control of object operations performed by said users; and a manager which has a plurality of types of functions for respectively performing a plurality of types of object operations including the display and preparation of said objects belonging to each object type in accordance with requests from said users; wherein the respective functions of said manager control the respective operations for said objects belonging to the respective object types in accordance with the control data of the corresponding object types; wherein said objects belonging to one of said object types are email messages; the respective email messages have type data which indicates one type selected from a plurality of specified types differing in whether or not replay deadline is set, and when said replay deadline is set, also have deadline data indicating the replay deadline and status data which indicates whether not the reply deadline has expired; the function for displaying said email messages inside said manager displays the type data of the respective email messages and, when said email messages have the replay deadline data and status data, also displays the replay deadline and status of the respective email messages.