Patent Document ID: 7970598
Application ID: 09931395

Base Claim:
1. A method for conversing comprising: establishing a plurality of conference areas wherein each conference area supports a language and is operated in parallel with other conference areas such that each conference area contains the same messages in the same order, said plurality of conference areas managed by an online service conference manager that manages translations of messages from each conference area for broadcast of translated messages to other conference areas; connecting a first plurality of computer users to a first conference area, wherein said computers users are connected to said first conference area according to said computer users specified preference for a first language; connecting a second plurality of computer users to a second conference area, wherein said computers users are connected to said second conference area according to said computer users specified preference for a second language; electronically receiving, at said online service conference manager, text communications in said first language, said text communications originating from spoken communications by computer users currently connected to said first conference area for said first language; automatically polling for untranslated text communications from said first conference area, said polling performed by a polling server; automatically transmitting said untranslated text communications from said polling server to said online service conference manager, automatically translating at said online service conference manager said untranslated text communications in said first language to translated text communications in a second language when said online service conference manager receives untranslated text communications from said polling server; automatically transmitting said translated text communications to said second conference area for said second language; and automatically broadcasting said translated text communications from said online service conference manager to said computer users currently connected to said second conference area.

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Claim 3:
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said second language is selected from the group consisting of English, German, and French.