COLLABORATIVE FILTERING OF SEARCH RESULTS BASED ON THE RELEVANCE FOR OTHER MEMBERS OF AN INSTANT MESSAGING SYSTEM

摘要

An instant messaging (IM) application allows member users to launch a search of the Internet or the World Wide Web for information relating to a topic or a friend. The IM application links to an Internet search engine to search the Internet for web sites relating to the topic or friend. Search results from an Internet search are sorted based on information about the friend that is stored in said friend's IM user profile.