Patent ID: 7680112

Claim:
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components for execution on a processor, the computer-executable components comprising: (a) a communication component for sending and receiving messages using at least one of a plurality of messaging providers, wherein each messaging provider operates at least a portion of a network infrastructure to provide a messaging service to one or more addressees; (b) a data store comprising a plurality of entries, each entry comprising a field for storing an indication of an addressee, a field for storing an indication of a messaging provider of the plurality of messaging providers, and an address associated with the addressee in the indicated messaging provider; (c) a routing component for associating an application with a message received using one of the plurality of messaging providers and providing the message to the associated application; and (d) a programming interface through which an application may specify a communication related command that causes an interaction between the communication component and the data store for performing a communication function relating to transmission of data, wherein the communication related command identifies an intended addressee, wherein the interaction between the communication component and the data store comprises retrieving from the data store routing information identifying at least one messaging provider and at least one address associated with the intended addressee in the at least one messaging provider, and wherein the identification of the intended addressee does not include an address used by any of the plurality of message providers.