Patent ID: 8190182

Claim:
An apparatus for processing an instant message from a source wireless communication device to a destination device, in a network-based system, the apparatus including: a short message service center (SMSC) to receive a short message from the wireless communication device through a wireless network; a mobile network interface (MNI) to retrieve the instant message from the short message, the instant message having a source wireless communication identifier, a destination instant messenger identifier, and data contents; a mobile instant messenger inter-working server (MIMIS) to extract the source wireless communication identifier, the destination instant messenger identifier, and the data contents from the instant message, wherein the MIMIS is to associate a source instant messenger identifier with the source wireless communication identifier, and to transmit the data contents with the source instant messenger identifier to the destination device over a network, based on the destination instant messenger identifier; a database to store binding records of the source instant messenger identifier and the wireless communication identifier; and an instant messenger server to receive the instant message from the MIMIS and transmitting the instant message to a non-wireless device, if the destination device is a non-wireless device.