Patent ID: 8150439

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for providing functionality based on location-based virtual groups of users, the method comprising: receiving definition information for a location-based virtual group of users that indicates a geographic area of the virtual group and one or more user interaction rules regarding allowed types of user actions, the receiving of the definition information being performed by one or more programmed computing systems; selecting multiple users to participate in the virtual group based at least in part on geographic locations of the users corresponding to the geographic area of the virtual group, each of the users having a mobile communication-capable device that provides information regarding the geographic location of the user; automatically enabling communications between the mobile communication-capable devices of the users of the virtual group in accordance with the user interaction rules of the virtual group, the automatic enabling of the communications being performed by the one or more programmed computing systems; selecting an additional user to participate in the communications between the mobile communication-capable devices of the users of the virtual group based at least in part on a request received from the additional user, the additional user having a communication-capable device and having a geographic location that is outside the geographic area of the virtual group: and automatically enabling the selected additional user to participate in the communications between the mobile communication-capable devices of the users of the virtual group while the geographic location of the selected additional user is outside the geographic area of the virtual group.