METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING A STATUS OF PRESENCE OF A GROUP OF USERS IN A VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION SPACE PROVIDED BY A COMMUNICATION SERVER ON A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

摘要

A method of communicating a presence state for a group of users having user terminals relating to their presence in a virtual communication space provided by a communication server on a communication network. The virtual space provides a plurality of distinct communication modes referred to as “activities” that can be shared by all of the users of said group. The method includes associating each activity of the virtual space with a graphics icon representing the activity, the icon being for displaying via a graphics interface implemented by any activity sharing client application that is installed in each user terminal. A presence state is determined for each user of the group. For each of the activities, a graphical representation for the associated icon is determined as a function of the presence state for the users relative to the activity, enabling visual identification of user(s) participating in the activity.

主权项

1. A method of communicating a presence state for a group of users having user terminals relating to their presence in a virtual communication space provided by a communication server on a communication network, said virtual space providing a plurality of distinct communication modes referred to as “activities” that can be shared by all of the users of said group, said method comprising the following operations:
associating each activity of the virtual space with a graphics icon having a geometrical shape and representing said activity, the icon being for displaying via a graphics interface implemented by an activities sharing client application that is installed in each user terminal; determining a presence state for each user of the group in the virtual communication space; and determining for each of the activities a graphical representation for the associated icon without modifying the geometrical shape of the icon, said graphical representation being determined as a function of the presence state for the users relative to the activity, and making it possible visually to identify the user(s) participating in the activity.