Patent ID: 7895338

Claim:
A system for discovering potential collaborators on a peer-to peer (P2P) network, comprising: a plurality of potential collaborators; and a seeker device; wherein the seeker device registers with the P2P network; wherein the seeker device initiates a Web service to a Web service provider; wherein the seeker device requests an available P2P server on the P2P network from the Web service provider using the Web service; wherein the seeker device registers the available P2P server in a Web service cluster using the Web service; wherein the seeker device downloads a search form from the Web service provider to the seeker device, wherein the search form includes a plurality of search entry fields for identifying the potential collaborators; wherein data is manually entered into at least one of the search fields by a user of the seeker device; wherein the seeker device performs a search on the P2P network to determine identity files that include the manually entered data; wherein the seeker device determines the collaborators that correspond to the determined identity files; and wherein the seeker device initiates a voice over internet protocol (VOIP) session with the collaborators, wherein each identity file is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file that is posted in a public directory that is accessible using a P2P protocol, and wherein at least one of the identity files includes a first tag identifying a corresponding one of the potential collaborators and a second tag including information for a VOIP process of the corresponding one of the collaborators to enable the VOIP session between the seeker device and the collaborators.