Patent ID: 6912274

Claim:
A method of creating and sending electronic mail (“e-mail”) messages, said method comprising the steps of: a) connecting a telephone customer to an e-mail device (EMD) via only a telephone call from a touch-tone telephone unit, wherein said EMD resides in a central office of a Public Switched Telephone Network or is under the domain of an Internet Service Provider; b) upon connection of said customer to said EMD, providing said customer with a menu of options for e-mail creation and transmission, said menu of options including an option to create a new e-mail message, an option to select an e-mail message from a list of pre-recorded e-mail messages and stored in said EMD, and an option to modify any one of said pre-recorded e-mail messages; c) via said EMD, constructing an e-mail message at least partially based upon input information input by said customer via an alphanumeric keypad of said telephone unit; d) in response to said customer's input, identifying a recipient of said e-mail message, the identity of said recipient corresponding to at least one of a Destination Telephone Number or an e-mail address; e) storing said e-mail message temporarily in said EMD; f) sending said e-mail message to the identified recipient via a wide area network, said wide area network comprising an Internet; and g) generating a confirmation report for delivery to said customer, said confirmation report confirming the retrieval of said e-mail message by the recipient.