Patent ID: 7587338

Claim:
A community service offering apparatus for exchanging information with a plurality of user terminals connected by a network, the apparatus comprising: virtual space information storing means for storing, in advance, virtual space information specifying a plurality of types of virtual spaces to be offered for purchase, the virtual spaces configured to enable interaction between avatars, the types of virtual spaces being determined based on respective characteristics of the virtual spaces different from an amount of resources of the community service offering apparatus that is utilized by each respective virtual space, the respective characteristics including functionality of the virtual space; virtual space offering means for allowing a first user of a plurality of users to select one of said virtual spaces as a user-specific virtual space leased or owned by said first user of the plurality of users, each user corresponding to at least one avatar; and charge controlling means for charging said first user of the plurality of users a fee to own or lease said user-specific virtual space, wherein said fee is based on the specified type of said user-specific virtual space which is determined based on respective characteristics of the virtual space which includes the functionality of the virtual space and only said first user of the plurality of users is charged to own or lease said user-specific virtual space and the remaining plurality of users may access the virtual space without charge.