Patent ID: 7197455

Claim:
A contents selection system for selecting content items, each content item corresponding to a first preparation information within a first category, a second preparation information within a second category, and a third preparation information within a third category, the system comprising: a portable terminal configured to transmit input speech information to a server over a network; and a server configured to receive the transmitted input speech information from the portable terminal, and to generate a contents list, wherein the server generates a first contents list by calculating the similarity of acoustic characteristic quantities between first input speech information and the first preparation information for the content items; wherein the server selects the second category or the third category based upon which category will better narrow the first contents list by comparing acoustical variations between preparation information within the second category with acoustical variations between preparation information within the third category, and selecting the category with greater acoustical variations; wherein the server transmits input request information related to the selected second or the third category to the portable terminal; and wherein the server narrows the first content list by calculating the similarity of acoustic characteristic quantities between second input speech information and the second preparation information or the third preparation information for the content items.