Patent ID: 7155430

Claim:
A method for providing a data inquiry service enabling service users to make inquiries to different categorized information directory resources over a communications system, said method comprising providing a unified category structure and unified category descriptions, mapping said unified category structure to categories of said different directory resources, selecting, in response to an inquiry initiated by a system user, at least one of said directory resources as a target directory on the basis of the user's selection or another criterion, presenting to the service user, in response to at least one search word given by the service user, at least one relevant category and the respective category description of the unified category structure matching said at least one search word and being mapped to said target directory resource, the system user selecting one of said unified categories, determining, in response to the system user selecting one of said unified categories and on the basis of said mapping, which at least one category of said target directory resource is mapped to said selected unified category, performing an inquiry to said target directory resource using said at least one determined category as a constraint, presenting data records resulting from said inquiry to the system user under said selected unified category.