Patent ID: 7162474

Claim:
A presence system comprising: (a) a database storing a plurality of entries each relating to a recipient party, each entry being stored according to a unique identifier assigned to the corresponding recipient party, (b) at least one rule included in each entry, specifying a manner of communications between the corresponding recipient party and an initiating party, and (c) an initiating party interface arranged to cooperate with an initiating party's communications device to cause communications application software appropriate to the manner of communications specified in said rule to automatically execute at the initiating party's device, wherein the system manages communications between an initiating party and a recipient party according to each appropriate rule and, in response to a connection request from an initiating party, the server generates data which, when processed at an initiating party device, results in the automatic execution of communications application software, the communications application software determining the manner of communication between the initiating party and the recipient party.