Patent ID: 8140629

Claim:
In a distributed computer system, a method for processing instant message information, the method comprising acts of: receiving at least one instant message originated at a client computer, the at least one message having a plurality of unstructured free text strings identifying at least one securities trading command; processing the unstructured free text strings and identifying at least one attribute within the plurality of unstructured free text strings; modifying the received at least one instant message to include structured content including the at least one identified attribute, the structured content identifying the at least one securities trading command; and forwarding the modified at least one instant message to a destination system to be executed, wherein the act of modifying includes an act of inserting a code that describes a format of the unstructured free text strings; and wherein the act of inserting the code that describes a format of the unstructured free text strings includes an act of inserting the code in an area of the at least one instant message that is not visible to a receiving instant message application program.