Patent ID: 6996605

Claim:
A network information system comprising: an information page server for serving information pages across a network to requesting parties having endpoint systems connected to the network; and a service system with a session manager for establishing a respective communication session for each of at least some of the information pages and for joining to such session the endpoint systems of parties currently located on the corresponding page, each communication session that is established having an associated transport mechanism for allowing the exchange of data, via data transfer channels, between the endpoint systems joined to the session, the service system having a sessions overview subsystem arranged to receive a notification from the session manager in response to an endpoint system joining or leaving a session, the sessions overview subsystem comprising: a real-time database for recording, on the basis of the notifications and for each session that is established, the identity of the associated information page and information about any party whose endpoint system is currently joined to the session, and a user interface for providing a view of the current page sessions and the related party information to a permitted user.