Patent ID: 7031934

Claim:
An access managing method in an apparatus coupled to a plurality of contents servers through a network, comprising the steps of: specifying, in response to insertion of an IC card into a first unit of said apparatus, a predetermined contents servers of said plurality of contents servers which corresponds to the IC card; monitoring, by a second unit of said apparatus, whether or not an access is made to the predetermined contents server, and updating, by said second unit, history of the access to the predetermined contents server when the access is made to the predetermined contents server; recording, by a third unit of said apparatus in the IC card a transaction amount settled or spent in an electronic commerce transaction and a settlement method used for the transaction; and retrieving, by a fourth unit of said apparatus, goods information relating to goods that may be more suitable for purchase by the user of the IC card based on a combination of the transaction amount and the settlement method used for the transaction recorded in the IC card and providing, by said fourth unit, the goods information thus retrieved to permit purchase of the goods identified by the goods information by the user of the IC card.