SYSTEM FOR INTEGRATING AN ON-LINE SERVICE COMMUNITY WITH A FOREIGN SERVICE

摘要

A system and method for integrating an on-line service community with a foreign service (24) such as the Internet World Wide Web. An extension to a user's preferred Web browser (190) is manifested as a toolbar (196) comprise d of control buttons and a viewer on a computer user's screen. By interacting with the control buttons of the toolbar (196) and the menus of the viewer, o n- line service content (198) is delivered to the user in response to the URLs (22) specified by the user as he or she browses the Web. In addition, contro l buttons on the toolbar (196) present opportunities for interacting with othe r community members. Although the user may change URLs (22) and Web sites frequently, the present invention maintains a context for the user's interactions so that on-line service content (198) may be presented and interactions with other community members facilitated.