Computer system and program

Abstract

To enable a user to browse various types of contents by performing selection operation on a tag displayed in a virtual space obtained by 3D digital visualization of the real world.SOLUTION: A computer system displays on a user terminal a virtual space obtained by 3D digital visualization of the real world, stores information input in a predetermined location in the virtual space in order to reserve a record, displays a tag at the input location, and outputs input information corresponding to the tag when selection operation of the tag is performed by a user. A hyperlink for making the user's browsing target transit to another content is displayed on the user terminal by the selection operation of the tag. By the user's selection operation on the hyperlink, a transition to a link destination is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 20

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer system and a program for enabling a person who wishes to send a business message to communicate with multiple users using a computer, and for enabling the business message sender to send a business message to the user who is enabled for communication. [Background technology]

[0002] A commonly known method for enabling specific people to communicate with each other using a computer is, for example, to inform the other person of one's mobile phone's email address or phone number so that the other person can contact the other person (hereinafter, this will be referred to as "contactable state"). A mobile phone has been proposed that can store the email addresses and other information of other people that the user has obtained in the address book of the mobile phone and display them in a list in response to a user's operation (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4256374 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, this conventional, general contactable state has the following drawbacks. People often feel uneasy and hesitant about giving out personal information such as phone numbers or email addresses to people they meet for the first time, which can result in missing opportunities for future communication. b There is a risk that the person to whom you have provided your personal information may contact you at any time of the day or night, causing you inconvenience. c) There is a risk that personal information such as your email address that you provide to the other party may be leaked to others, who may then impersonate you and send you emails, or you may become the victim of spam. d. Once personal information has been provided, invalidating it requires cumbersome procedures such as changing a phone number or email address.

[0005] In light of the above, an ideal contactable state is one in which contact can be made at a later date without the other party having to disclose each other's personal information, and which also prevents the inconvenience of someone other than the other party contacting the other party by impersonating that person.

[0006] The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a means for establishing the above-mentioned ideal contactable state.

[0007] Next, the correspondence between various means for solving the problems and the embodiments will be shown in parentheses below.

[0008] The present invention is a computer system that supports communication between people who wish to communicate with each other by operating a terminal (e.g., a mobile phone 2) and using a computer (e.g., a server 10, 21, etc.) via a network, a destination list display control means for controlling display of a list of multiple destinations on the terminal (for example, instead of step S19, a step of "sending a shared virtual tag to a mobile phone of a user ID identified from the received variable shared virtual tag ID and to a mobile phone of a person requesting generation of a shared virtual tag" is performed, and a list of the shared virtual tags stored in the EEPROM 42 is displayed on the display unit 35 according to an operation of the input operation unit 37 of the mobile phone 2 by the user. Alternatively, the method of accessing the shared virtual tag described based on FIG. 5 is not limited to the shared virtual tag, but may be applied to other tags, for example, history tags, community virtual tags, contract shared virtual tags, business shared virtual tags, etc. As described in FIG. 5, the community virtual tag is stored in the EEPROM 42 in the same way as the shared virtual tag, and the user performs an operation to display a list of the community virtual tags and selects and clicks the community virtual tag he or she wishes to access from the list display); a means for selecting and designating a contact with whom communication is desired from among a plurality of contacts displayed by the contact list display control means (e.g., S89, S90, S424), and for displaying the input contents on the terminal so that the person who selected and designated the contact and the other person who selected and designated the contact can communicate the input contents by operating the terminal and send and receive messages (e.g., S91, S93, S94, S430, S437, S438, storing the contents written in S93 on a Web page corresponding to the shared virtual tag in S94, and sending and receiving messages by viewing (Mr. A's writings) (Mr. B's writings) in FIG. 1, etc.); a location determination means for determining a location based on the location information transmitted to the computer (for example, storing past location data and time data as history in the user database 11 in addition to updating the location data by S16 and S16d, or S434 and S435, or S32, and searching for a contact whose history data matches the geographical location and time of the encounter specified by the contact proposer based on the history data of the location data and time data stored in the user database 11); When one of the people determined by the location determination means to be within a specified geographical area makes an offer to the other person to interact (for example, an offer to create a shared virtual tag) and the other person agrees to the exchange (if the other person agrees to the offer to create a shared virtual tag), a location determination interaction destination addition means performs an interaction destination addition process to add the person to the list of interaction destinations as a new interaction destination (for example, instead of steps S18, S19, or steps S18 and S19, a step of "sending a shared virtual tag to the mobile phone of the user ID identified from the received variable shared virtual tag ID and to the mobile phone of the person requesting the creation of the shared virtual tag" is used. This process causes the shared virtual tag to be stored in the terminals of the parties (mobile phones, etc.) rather than in the virtual world. Or, S416, S423); and an other-determined exchange destination adding means for determining whether or not a condition for performing the exchange destination adding process is satisfied by a method other than the position determination, and adding the condition to the exchange destination list if it is determined that the condition is satisfied (for example, when the user of mobile phone B is accessing a specific location in the virtual world as explained based on FIG. 2, a real-world location corresponding to the virtual world location being accessed is obtained as the current location. In the case of an event held in the virtual world, a shared virtual tag (community) is generated by communication between the agent (avatar) of each attendee and a venue agent constituting the virtual event venue. After the shared virtual tag is created, a third party who has been given permission to access by all of the parties who created the shared virtual tag may later be able to access the shared virtual tag.), By displaying the list of communication destinations on the terminal based on control from the computer, those wishing to communicate can communicate with each other without disclosing personal contact information (for example, in step S19 and S84 to S87, or instead of step S19, a step of "sending a shared virtual tag to a mobile phone of a user ID identified from the received variable shared virtual tag ID and to the mobile phone of the person requesting the generation of the shared virtual tag" is performed, and the list of shared virtual tags stored in EEPROM 42 is displayed on display unit 35 in accordance with the user's operation of input operation unit 37 of mobile phone 2).

[0009] In another aspect of the present invention, a program is provided for supporting communication between people who wish to communicate with each other by communication over a network using a computer (e.g., server 10, 21, etc.) and executed by a terminal (e.g., mobile phone 2), a location information transmission step of transmitting location information to the computer (for example, S9, when a member user turns on the GPS function of his / her mobile phone 2, the mobile phone 2 transmits the user ID and GPS data indicating the current location to the server 10 of the service provider 8); A display control step of controlling a display unit (e.g., display unit 35) of the terminal (e.g., S19, in accordance with an operation of the input operation unit 37 of the mobile phone 2 by the user, a list of shared virtual tags stored in the EEPROM 42 is displayed on the display unit 35. S92, etc.), The display control step includes: a destination list display control step for displaying a list of multiple destinations (for example, instead of step S19, a step of "sending a shared virtual tag to the mobile phone of the user ID identified from the received variable shared virtual tag ID and the mobile phone of the person requesting the creation of the shared virtual tag" in which the list of shared virtual tags stored in the EEPROM 42 is displayed on the display unit 35 in accordance with the user's operation of the input operation unit 37 of the mobile phone 2. Alternatively, the method of accessing the shared virtual tag described based on FIG. 5 is not limited to the shared virtual tag, but may be applied to other tags, such as history tags, community virtual tags, contract shared virtual tags, and business shared virtual tags. As described in FIG. 5, the community virtual tag is stored in the EEPROM 42 in the same way as the shared virtual tag, and the user performs an operation to display a list of community virtual tags and selects and clicks the community virtual tag he or she wishes to access from the list display); and an input content display step of selecting and designating an exchange destination with which communication is desired from among the displayed plurality of exchange destinations, and displaying the input content so that the selected and designated exchange destination and the selected and designated exchange destination can communicate the input content by operating terminals and send and receive messages to each other (for example, S92, S93, S429, S430, storing the content written in S93 on a Web page corresponding to the shared virtual tag in S94, and sending and receiving messages by viewing (Mr. A's writing) (Mr. B's writing) in FIG. 1, etc.), The computer includes: a location determination means for determining a location based on the location information transmitted in the location information transmission step (for example, storing past location data and time data as history in the user database 11 in addition to updating the location data in S16 and S16d, or S434 and S435, or S32, and searching for a contact in the history data that matches the geographical location and time of the encounter specified by the contact proposer based on the history data of the location data and time data stored in the user database 11); A location determination communication destination addition means (e.g., S15, S16, S16a to S16d, or S433 to S435, or an offer to generate a shared virtual tag and confirm that the other party agrees) performs a communication destination addition process in which one of the people determined by the location determination means to be within a specified geographical area makes an offer to the other party to communicate and the other party agrees to the exchange, thereby adding the new communication destination to the list of communication destinations; and an other-determined exchange destination adding means for determining whether or not a condition for performing the exchange destination adding process is satisfied by a method other than the position determination, and adding the condition to the exchange destination list if it is determined that the condition is satisfied (for example, when the user of mobile phone B is accessing a specific location in the virtual world as explained based on FIG. 2, a real-world location corresponding to the virtual world location being accessed is obtained as the current location. In the case of an event held in the virtual world, a shared virtual tag (community) is generated by communication between the agent (avatar) of each attendee and a venue agent constituting the virtual event venue. After the shared virtual tag is created, a third party who has been given permission to access by all of the parties who created the shared virtual tag may later be able to access the shared virtual tag.), The list of communication destinations is displayed on the display unit based on control from the computer, allowing those wishing to communicate with each other to communicate without disclosing personal contact information (for example, in step S19 and S84 to S87, or instead of step S19, a step of "sending a shared virtual tag to a mobile phone of a user ID identified from the received variable shared virtual tag ID and to a mobile phone of a person requesting the generation of a shared virtual tag" is performed, and the list of shared virtual tags stored in EEPROM 42 is displayed on display unit 35 in accordance with the user's operation of input operation unit 37 of mobile phone 2). Effects of specific examples of means for solving the problem

[0010] According to such a configuration, when contacting a person, it becomes possible to make contact at a later time without notifying the person of personal information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of constructing a contactable state when people meet in the real world. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of establishing a contactable state when a person who has entered a virtual world meets a person in the real world. [Diagram 3] 1 is a system diagram showing an overall configuration of an access control system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing data stored in a user database. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of a mobile phone. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the server; [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing generation control of a shared virtual tag. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a shared virtual tag generation process. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a virtual world display process. [Figure 10]13 is a flowchart showing access control to a shared virtual tag. [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of an agent (avatar). [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing generation control of a shared virtual tag for business use. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a business-use shared virtual tag generation process. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing data stored in a user four-dimensional coordinate database. [Figure 15] 4 is a flowchart showing the main routine program of the mobile phone and the service provider's server. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the current virtual world terminal processing and the current virtual world corresponding processing. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a common point search request process and a common point search process. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a community virtual tag terminal process and a community virtual tag corresponding process. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a community virtual tag terminal process and a community virtual tag corresponding process. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a community virtual tag terminal process and a community virtual tag corresponding process. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a user four-dimensional coordinate search process. [Figure 22] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a link source designation terminal process and a link source designation response process. [Figure 23] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining data stored in a hyperlink database; [Figure 24]13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of past virtual world terminal processing and past virtual world corresponding processing. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of historical virtual world terminal processing and historical virtual world corresponding processing. [Figure 26] 13 is a flowchart showing historical virtual world terminal processing and historical virtual world display processing. [Figure 27] 13 is a flowchart showing historical virtual world terminal processing and historical virtual world display processing. [Figure 28] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing data stored in a virtual history database. [Figure 29] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program for future virtual world terminal processing and future virtual world corresponding processing. [Diagram 30] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a future schedule terminal process and a future schedule corresponding process. [Diagram 31] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a virtual world display corresponding process. [Diagram 32] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining data stored in a conversation database. [Diagram 33] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an authentication terminal process and an authentication process. [Diagram 34] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a four-dimensional coordinate request process. [Diagram 35] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a contract authentication request process and a corresponding contract authentication process on the server side. [Diagram 36] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a DRM request process and a DRM process. [Figure 37] 10 is a flowchart showing specific control procedures of a content playback process and an authentication process during playback. [Figure 38]13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance request process and a four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance process. [Figure 39] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of virtual world advertising terminal processing and virtual world advertising corresponding processing. [Diagram 40] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an advertisement menu selection input process and an input menu registration process. [Diagram 41] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an advertisement menu selection input process and an input menu registration process. [Diagram 42] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an advertisement menu selection input process and an input menu registration process. [Diagram 43] FIG. 2 illustrates information stored in a virtual world advertising database. [Diagram 44] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an advertisement display terminal process and an advertisement display corresponding process. [Diagram 45] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an advertisement display terminal process and an advertisement display corresponding process. [Figure 46] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of an advertisement display terminal process and an advertisement display corresponding process. [Figure 47] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a marketing terminal process and a marketing response process. [Figure 48] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a questionnaire terminal process and a shop opening process based on received contents. [Figure 49] 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a payment data providing process and a payment data collecting process. [Figure 50] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing data stored in a marketing database. [Figure 51]13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a marketing data acquisition process and a marketing data provision process. [Figure 52] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display screen of a marketing menu. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] [First embodiment] First, an outline of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 which clearly show an example of use of the present invention.

[0013] [Summary of the invention] Figure 1 shows an example of establishing contact availability when people meet in the real world.

[0014] Referring to Figure 1, two people who met for the first time met in front of the International Foundation for Japanese Culture (Yotsuya Kaidan Museum) in Yotsuya, and with their mutual consent, created a shared virtual tag using each other's mobile phones 2. This shared virtual tag is a tag that is created and displayed in a location in the virtual world that corresponds to the place where the two people met, and can be accessed only by the mobile phones of both people who met, allowing them to contact each other by writing on it.

[0015] This virtual world is a metaverse in which the scenery of the real world is digitally visualized. As mentioned above, for example, Google Street View can be used. Alternatively, instead of using an existing one, a new one can be created by digitally imaging the scenery of the real world. Figure 1 shows that a shared virtual tag was created at 14:03 on October 15, 2009.

[0016] In this state, if one accesses this virtual world (Street View, etc.) and goes to the front of the International Foundation for Japanese Culture in Yotsuya where the shared virtual tag was created, only the mobile phones 2 of Person A and Person B who created the shared virtual tag will be able to display this shared virtual tag.

[0017] In Figure 1, first, Mr. A clicks (meaning a selection or designation operation, the same applies below) on the shared virtual tag using his mobile phone 2, and writes a message as shown in Figure 1 on October 17, 2009. When Mr. A writes a message, a pop-up notification is displayed on Mr. B's mobile phone 2 to inform him of the message. Mr. B accesses the virtual world the next day, clicks on the shared virtual tag, and writes a message as shown in Figure 1.

[0018] In this way, by establishing a contactable state using a shared virtual tag, person A and person B can contact each other without revealing personal information such as telephone numbers or email addresses to each other.

[0019] Moreover, since access to the shared virtual tag cannot be made from any terminal other than the mobile phone 2 of the person who created the tag, it is possible to prevent a third person from impersonating the user and writing on the tag using the user's mobile phone.

[0020] By communicating using such shared virtual tags, it becomes possible to exchange information safely while protecting each other's personal information (privacy) and preventing damage such as spam, thereby helping to build connections between people.

[0021] Figure 2 shows an example of contacting a person in the real world from the virtual world and generating a shared virtual tag. In the virtual world, you can, of course, teleport to a desired location. There are many possible situations in which you can contact a person in the real world from the virtual world by taking advantage of the advantages of the virtual world.

[0022] For example, when checking out a travel destination, you can access the destination from the virtual world in advance and contact the local residents to gather first-hand information about the area. Another example would be when you later realize that you left something behind in a classroom at school, and immediately access the location that corresponds to that classroom in the virtual world, contact someone in the classroom in the real world from there to have them take care of the item for you, and then contact them later to retrieve it. However, a particularly important situation would be when an emergency such as a disaster occurs.

[0023] Figure 2 shows an example of rushing to an area affected by an earthquake disaster from the virtual world to provide assistance. Figure 2 shows that Mr. D, who saw the news of the earthquake, uses his mobile phone to access the area where the earthquake occurred in the virtual world. If a resident of the disaster area has a mobile phone 2 with a GPS function, an avatar C of the resident is displayed at a location in the virtual world that corresponds to the current location identified by the GPS function or the like. This avatar C is composed of an agent that is independent and has a certain degree of conversational ability.

[0024] Mr. D, who has accessed the virtual world corresponding to the disaster area, talks to avatar C, who is displayed in that location, and proposes creating a virtual tag. Avatar C, who receives this proposal, notifies the corresponding person's mobile phone 2 of this. Mr. C, who is the owner of the notified mobile phone, agrees and notifies avatar C of the same instructions. Avatar C then informs Mr. D that he agrees, and a shared virtual tag between Mr. C and Mr. D is created in that location in the virtual world. In this state, Mr. C can access the virtual world and click on the shared virtual tag, allowing information to be exchanged between Mr. D and Mr. C as shown in Figure 2, making it possible to provide efficient relief in the event of a disaster.

[0025] By configuring the shared virtual tag as a voice virtual tag (described later), a user can leave a message in the tag by voice from a mobile phone, which is effective as a method of inputting a message in an emergency.

[0026] [Detailed Description] Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing the overall configuration of the human connection support system of the present invention. The mobile phone 2 receives GPS (Global Positioning System) information from a satellite 1, and also receives radio waves from a base station 3 connected to a mobile phone network 4 and wireless radio waves from a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) access point 7. Based on these radio waves, the mobile phone 2 identifies its current location. The mobile phone 2 is configured to be able to access a server 10 of a service provider 8 via the base station 3, the mobile phone network 4, a gateway 5, and the Internet 6. The service provider 8 is a company that provides a service that supports human connections. The user who owns the mobile phone 2 is a member of the service of this service provider 8, and a user ID is set at the time of membership.

[0028] The service provider 8 is equipped with a server 10, a user database 11 that stores data on affiliated users, and a virtual tag database 9 that stores data on virtual tags.

[0029] A virtual world provider 20 connected to the Internet 6 is a service provider that provides images of a virtual world (metaverse) that is a digitalized version of a 360-degree panoramic image of any location in the real world. A virtual world database 22 is connected to a server 21 of the virtual world provider 20. This virtual world database 22 stores virtual world 3D data that is a digitalized version of a 360-degree panoramic image in the real world. For example, 3D data from Google Street View can be used.

[0030] This virtual world 3D data uses Flash, which was developed as an animation creation tool (animation authoring tool), and interactive expressions can be achieved by writing scripts. Flash is a type of program that controls the characters and images you want to move, and you can create animations by placing still images on a timeline, and a scripting language called Action Script allows for complex interactions like those in games. As a result, as will be described later, it is possible to display an agent (avatar) in the 3D virtual world, and as the user moves in the real world, the agent corresponding to that user can also be moved and displayed to the same corresponding position in the virtual world.

[0031] For each area in the virtual world 3D data that corresponds to a real world address, location data is associated and stored. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, location data (Shibuya-ku 1-1-1) is associated and stored in the virtual world 3D data corresponding to the address of Shibuya-ku 1-1-1. As a result, when a user inputs location data consisting of an address or the like to specify an access location, the portion of the virtual world 3D data that corresponds to the specified location data is read out and displayed on the user terminal (such as mobile phone 2).

[0032] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining data stored in the user database 11 of the service provider 8. An agent ID for identifying an agent (avatar) of each member user is stored in association with each user ID. Furthermore, GPS data identifying a current location is transmitted to the server 10 of the service provider 8 from a user who has the GPS function of the mobile phone 2 turned on. The server 10 converts the transmitted GPS data into coordinate data consisting of latitude and longitude, and stores the data in a storage area for the current location GPS data of the corresponding user ID in the user database 11. For example, in the case of the user ID 13B9PS in FIG. 4, the current location GPS data is 35.669299 latitude and 139.713655 longitude.

[0033] Furthermore, the server 10 converts the current position GPS data (latitude and longitude) into position data consisting of an address and the like, and stores the position data in the position data storage area of ​​the user database 11.

[0034] Returning to Fig. 3, the virtual tag database 9 stores user IDs and, corresponding to the user IDs, location data, virtual tag display data, virtual tag types, and virtual tag creation dates and times. The location data is data for indicating the location where the virtual tag was created. The virtual tag display data is data for displaying the virtual tag in the virtual world, and is composed of text data, image data, etc.

[0035] The virtual tag type is data indicating the type of virtual tag to be displayed, and includes audio virtual tags, advertising virtual tags, shared virtual tags, etc. Of these, the shared virtual tag is the one explained in Figures 1 and 2. In the detailed explanation of this invention, in addition to the shared virtual tag, there are also virtual tags that are generated solely by a user or a company. An audio virtual tag is a virtual tag that can convey a message by voice. An advertising virtual tag is a virtual tag for advertising purposes created by an advertising company. Virtual tags other than shared virtual tags can be freely accessed by anyone other than the creator of the virtual tag.

[0036] Also, for example, the shared virtual tag shown in Figure 2 can be configured as a voice virtual tag. This has the advantage that Mr. C and Mr. D can input messages by voice without typing, allowing for quick input in an emergency.

[0037] The creation date and time is data indicating the date and time when the virtual tag was created. For example, when the user ID is 13B9PS, it is 0902190921, which means 09:21 on Feb. 19, 2009.

[0038] The server 10 of the service provider 8 uses a virtual world mashed up with street view and the like as a 3D virtual world on the Internet that is an exact copy of the real world. The server 10 identifies the current location of the member user in the real world with the member user's mobile phone 2, and displays the member user's avatar (agent) at a location in the virtual world that corresponds to the current location. When another member user enters the virtual world and meets the avatar (agent), the member user and the avatar (agent) can converse with each other. Conversation through an avatar in the virtual world is a well-known and commonly used technique that has been used frequently in 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life, and this well-known and commonly used technique is used. In addition, since the avatar (agent) is an agent that is independent and has a certain degree of conversational ability like the above-mentioned CLON, the user in the real world can leave the conversation to his or her avatar to a certain extent, and converse with the other party himself or herself only when necessary while viewing the conversation content on the mobile phone.

[0039] 5 is a block diagram of the hardware configuration of the mobile phone 2. The mobile phone 2 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31 for controlling the entire mobile phone 2 including line connection processing and data communication processing, a ROM (Read Only Member) 32 storing programs for executing various functions, a camera input unit 34 consisting of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor for photographing the surrounding scenery, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33 including a memory for storing at least one still image data obtained by photographing with the camera input unit 34, a display unit 35 for image output such as a liquid crystal display panel, a wireless communication processing unit 36 ​​for communication via the Internet 6, and an input operation unit 37 for the user to make the CPU 31 of the mobile phone 2 execute a desired function. The input operation unit 37 includes a touch pen, a jog dial, a keyboard, a microswitch, etc. An interface 41 performs interface processing to an internal bus 40 of various circuits and devices.

[0040] Furthermore, the mobile phone 2 has an audio output unit 38a and an audio input unit 38b for allowing the user to make a call by voice, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 42, and a location information acquisition unit 39. The location information acquisition unit 39 acquires the current location based on the GPS information from the satellite 1, the radio waves from the base station 3, and the wireless radio waves from the wireless LAN access point 7, as described in FIG.

[0041] The EEPROM 42 stores a list of shared virtual tags that the user has previously created. In this list, the geographical location (address) where the shared virtual tag was created and the user's notes are stored in association with each shared virtual tag. In the example of the notes in FIG. 5, the impression of the other party of the shared virtual tag is stored as "good-looking young man," "friendly," "intelligent," etc. In accordance with the user's operation of the input operation unit 37 of the mobile phone 2, the list of shared virtual tags stored in the EEPROM 42 is displayed on the display unit 35. The user selects and clicks the shared virtual tag to be accessed while referring to the creation location and the notes. Then, by the processing of S80 to S88 described later, the clicked shared virtual tag is displayed together with the virtual world of the created geographical location (see FIG. 2).

[0042] The user can check the scenery around the displayed shared virtual tag in the virtual world image, confirm the place where the user met the other person, and revive the memory of the other person from that place. This allows the user to revive the memory of the other person without knowing the other person's personal information, and then decide whether or not to access the shared virtual tag. If the user clicks on the shared virtual tag to access it, a contact web page will be displayed by the processing of S90 to S94 described later, and writing and viewing will be possible.

[0043] Next, a block diagram of the hardware configuration of the server 10 and the server 21 is shown in FIG. 6. The functions of the CPU 50, the ROM 51, and the RAM 52 are the same as those described above for the mobile phone 2. The servers 10 and 21 have a storage unit (not shown). The storage unit is a storage device that can store various programs, files, and information and data including large-volume images and can read them out as needed. These data and programs can be written to the RAM 52 as necessary to perform various information processing. The input unit 55 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and issues commands to the servers 10 and 21 to perform various information processing. The interface 58 performs interface processing to the internal bus 57 of various circuits and devices. The display unit 54 is composed of a CRT or LCD, etc., and displays characters, figures, and images. The communication control unit 53 controls the communication function of sending and receiving data via the Internet 6.

[0044] Next, a flowchart for generating the above-mentioned shared virtual tag is shown in FIG. 7. In the present invention, not only can users in the real world generate a shared virtual tag in the virtual world using mobile phone A and mobile phone B, but users in the real world can also enter the virtual world and generate a shared virtual tag with an agent (avatar) in the virtual world using their own mobile phone. A shared virtual tag can also be generated between agents (avatars). Furthermore, users who have entered the virtual world can generate a shared virtual tag through their own agents (avatars). In this way, in order to enable an agent (avatar) to generate a shared virtual tag independent of a user, the agent (avatar) is also stored in the user database 11 as an independent member user. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the user agent ID corresponding to the user ID 13B9PS is θ42S15, and this agent (avatar) is also stored in the user database 11 as an independent member user. When the agent ID of θ42S15 is stored in the user ID storage area of ​​user database 11, and the agent with that agent ID creates a shared virtual tag by itself, AP81K7, which is the ID for that shared virtual tag, is stored in user database 11 (see Figure 4), and the location data, virtual tag display data, virtual tag type, and creation date and time are also stored in virtual tag database 9 as data for the user ID of θ42S15.

[0045] The flowchart in Figure 7 adopts a method in which one of the parties generating a shared virtual tag sends data identifying its own shared virtual tag ID (variable shared virtual tag ID) to the other party's mobile phone, and the other party's mobile phone sends its own user ID and the received variable shared virtual tag ID to server 10, thereby enabling server 10 to identify the party generating the shared virtual tag and generate a shared virtual tag for that party.

[0046] First, in cell phone A or agent A, a process of calling up its own shared virtual tag ID is performed in step S (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1. In the case of cell phone A, this shared virtual tag ID is stored in the built-in memory, and in the case of agent A, it is stored as knowledge data for the agent.

[0047] Next, S2 performs a process of generating a variable shared virtual tag ID using the time information of the atomic clock contained in the GPS radio waves received from satellite 1. In this process, the variable shared virtual tag ID is generated by performing processes such as adding GPS time information to the shared virtual tag ID called up by S1 and encrypting it. Then, S3 transmits the generated variable shared virtual tag ID to mobile phone B by infrared communication. When transmitting to agent B, the variable shared virtual tag ID is notified to agent B in the virtual world without using infrared communication. Since the shared virtual tag ID is notified to others in its original form, but as a variable shared virtual tag ID that has been encrypted, it is possible to prevent one's own shared virtual tag ID from being stolen and misused by others as much as possible.

[0048] In mobile phone B or agent B, a decision is made in S4 as to whether or not to access server 10, and when an operation or decision to access server 10 is performed, a process is performed in S5 to transmit personal authentication data including the user ID of mobile phone B or agent B to server 10. In server 10, personal identification is performed in S6 based on the transmitted data, and when the identity is confirmed, access permission is returned to mobile phone B or agent B in S7. After the access permission is received, an operation to request the generation of a shared virtual tag is performed in S8, and along with this operation, the current position data and the variable shared virtual tag ID transmitted in S3 are transmitted to server 10 to request the generation of a shared virtual tag (S9). In response to this, server 10 performs a process to generate a shared virtual tag in the virtual world in S10.

[0049] A flowchart of the subroutine program of the shared virtual tag generation process shown in S10 is shown in Fig. 8. Referring to Fig. 8, in S15, the received variable shared virtual tag ID is compounded to return it to the original plain text, and the shared virtual tag ID and time information are extracted. This time information is the GPS time information added to the shared virtual tag ID in S2 described above. Next, in S16, it is determined whether the extracted time information is within an allowable error range compared to the current time. If a user sends another person's variable shared virtual tag ID used not for the current shared virtual tag generation but for the generation of a previous shared virtual tag to the server 10 to request the generation of a shared virtual tag illegally, the current time and the time information included in the sent variable shared virtual tag ID are significantly different, so that NO is determined in S16 and control is shifted to S20, and a process is performed to crack down on the unauthorized user who made the request to generate an illegal shared virtual tag.

[0050] Also, in S20, a process is performed to search the virtual tag database 9 for the extracted shared virtual tag ID with the same creation date and time as the extracted time information. Next, in S21, it is determined whether or not there is a match, and if there is a match, in S22, the user ID (two or more) of the corresponding shared virtual tag is identified, and in S23, a process is performed to identify the person corresponding to the identified user ID and request the mobile carrier to take action. The mobile carrier that receives this action request will identify the person and send a warning letter to that person, or if the behavior is extremely severe, will cancel the contract with that person.

[0051] On the other hand, if it is determined in S21 that there is no match, the process proceeds to S24, where a user ID is identified from the extracted shared virtual ID, and a request is made to the mobile carrier to identify the person corresponding to that user ID and take action.

[0052] On the other hand, if the determination in S16 is YES, control shifts to S16a, where a further security check is performed based on whether the current location of the person generating the shared virtual tag is close. Specifically, a process of acquiring the location of the person requesting the generation of the shared virtual tag is performed in S16a. In the example of FIG. 8, the current location of mobile phone B or agent B is acquired. However, if the user of mobile phone B is accessing a specific location in the virtual world as explained based on FIG. 2, the real world location corresponding to the accessed virtual world location is acquired as the current location. Also, if an agent (avatar) is the person requesting the generation of the shared virtual tag, the real world location corresponding to the current location of the agent (avatar) in the virtual world is acquired as the current location.

[0053] Next, a process of identifying a user ID from the shared virtual tag ID extracted in S15 is performed in S16b. Next, a process of acquiring current location information of the user ID is performed in S16c. As with the current location in S16a, when a user enters the virtual world and accesses a predetermined location, a predetermined location in the real world corresponding to the predetermined location in the virtual world is acquired as the current location information. Also, when the user ID identified from the shared virtual tag ID is that of an agent (avatar), a real world location corresponding to the current location of the agent (avatar) in the virtual world is acquired as the current location.

[0054] Next, the process proceeds to S16d, where it is determined whether the acquired current location and the current location of the requester of the shared virtual tag generation are within a predetermined distance. This predetermined distance is a distance that allows communication to obtain mutual consent to generate a shared virtual tag at this location, for example, a distance of about 10 meters. When it is determined that the distance is not within the predetermined distance, for example, there may be a case where a fraudulent act is performed, such as a case where a shared virtual tag ID of a person other than the person who is generating the shared virtual tag this time is illegally obtained, and a variable shared virtual tag ID using GPS time information is generated and transmitted by misusing the shared virtual tag ID of the other person. In such a case, NO is determined in S16d, and the control proceeds to S24, and a request is made to the mobile carrier to identify and deal with the user who performed such a fraudulent act, as described above.

[0055] On the other hand, if the determination in S16d is YES, the process proceeds to S17, where the user database 11 is searched to identify the user ID from the shared virtual tag ID, and in S18, the identified user ID and the user ID received at the time of access are stored in the virtual tag database 9, and the data of the shared virtual tag is stored corresponding to these user IDs. The state stored in S18 is the data of the shared virtual tag in the virtual tag database 9 in Fig. 3, where the user IDs correspond to A4VZ12 and B27FH8.

[0056] Next, in S19, a process is performed to display the shared virtual tag in the virtual world of the received current location. This state is shown in Figure 1. However, in this display process, the shared virtual tag is only displayed on the mobile phone of the person who created it.

[0057] As explained in Figure 8, as a security measure when generating a shared virtual tag, a first stage security check is performed using the time at S16, S20 to S24, and a second stage security check is performed based on the current location of the person at the time of generating the shared virtual tag as shown in S16a to S16d, and S24, thereby ensuring high security through double security checks.

[0058] 9 is a flow chart showing the virtual world display process performed by the server 10 of the service provider 8. In S30, it is determined whether or not the user ID and GPS data have been received. If not, control proceeds to S33, where it is determined whether or not the user ID and access location have been input, and if not, control returns to S30 again.

[0059] If the member user turns on the GPS function of his / her mobile phone 2 during the loop of S30 → S33 → S30, the mobile phone 2 transmits the user ID and GPS data indicating the current location to the server 10 of the service provider 8. Then, a YES determination is made in S30 and control proceeds to S31, where the received GPS data of the current location (coordinate data consisting of latitude and longitude) is converted into location data consisting of an address. Next, in S32, the user database 11 is searched and the GPS data and location data corresponding to the received user ID are updated, and control proceeds to S33. Note that control may proceed to S31 only when the member user performs an operation to display his / her avatar (agent) in the virtual world, in addition to turning on the GPS function of the mobile phone 2.

[0060] Meanwhile, if a member user operates his / her mobile phone 2 to input an access location in order to access the virtual world while going through the loop of S30 → S33 → S30, the access location and user ID are transmitted to the server 10 of the service provider 8. This access location does not only mean that the user operates the mobile phone 2 to input the address (location data) he / she wishes to access, but also means that the mobile phone 2 may display a list of shared virtual tags that the user has created in the past and the locations where they were created, and the user may select and click on the shared virtual tag that he / she wishes to access from the tag list, thereby automatically inputting the location data of the shared virtual tag (see "Location Data" in virtual tag database 9 in FIG. 3).

[0061] If a user ID and access location are input, control proceeds to S34, where it is determined whether or not the input user ID is registered in the user database 11. If not registered, the user is not a member user, and control is performed in S35 to cause the mobile phone 2 to display an NG message.

[0062] On the other hand, if the input user ID is registered in the user database 11, control proceeds to S36, where the input access position is transmitted to the server 21 of the virtual world provider 20. Upon receiving the access position, the server 21 of the virtual world provider 20 searches the virtual world database 22 to read out the virtual world 3D data portion corresponding to the access position (position data), and transmits it to the server 10 of the service provider 8. The server 10 acquires the virtual world 3D data corresponding to the transmitted access position (S37), and in S38 searches the user database 11 to identify an agent (avatar) near the access position, and controls to overlay and display the agent on the acquired virtual world 3D data.

[0063] Next, in S39, a process is performed in which the virtual tag database 9 is searched and the position data of the shared virtual tag corresponding to the input user ID is read out. Next, the process proceeds to S40, where it is determined whether or not the position data read out in S39 is included within the area of ​​the currently displayed virtual world 3D. If it is not included, control returns to S30. On the other hand, if it is included, the process proceeds to S41, where the shared virtual tag determined to be included is read out from the virtual tag database 9 and overlaid and displayed on the virtual world 3D. Next, the process proceeds to S42, where a process of accessing the shared virtual tag is executed, and the process returns to S30.

[0064] A flowchart of the process of accessing this shared virtual tag is shown in Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 10, when the user operates the mobile phone 2 to cause the display unit 35 to display the list of shared virtual tags stored in the EEPROM 42 as described above, a YES determination is made in S80, and authentication data including the user ID is transmitted to the server 10 in S81. The server 10 receives this data and performs identity verification in S82. When the user who has been granted access permission in S83 operates the mobile phone 2 to select and click the shared virtual tag to be accessed, a request for accessing the shared virtual tag is transmitted to the server 10 in S85.

[0065] The server 10 performs the processes of S86 and S87, and as a result, in S88, only the shared virtual tag corresponding to the user ID of the person who has accessed the mobile phone 2, that is, the shared virtual tag created by the accessing person, is displayed on the mobile phone 2. Therefore, access by persons other than the creator of the shared virtual tag can be prevented. Also, if the search result in S86 shows that the shared virtual tag corresponding to the user ID is not stored in the virtual tag database, a message indicating that access is not possible is returned to the mobile phone 2 or the agent. Also, FIG. 10 shows an example in which the shared virtual tag is displayed not only in the virtual world but also in the real world, as shown in S87 and S88. As a method of displaying the shared virtual tag in the virtual world, for example, a method can be considered in which the shared virtual tag is displayed at a predetermined location by peeking into the real world through the camera function of the mobile phone (similar to the method of Sekai Camera (registered trademark)).

[0066] In addition, if a user generates multiple shared virtual tags, the multiple shared virtual tags and their creation locations can be displayed in a list, for example in chronological order, and the user can jump to a virtual world to which a shared virtual tag that the user selects and clicks on from the tag list is attached, thereby improving user convenience.

[0067] 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of an agent (avatar). In S50, a determination is made as to whether or not another avatar has spoken to the agent (agent) in the vicinity of the agent in the 3D virtual world, and the agent waits until spoken to. If spoken to, control proceeds to S51, where a pop-up notification of the spoken to the corresponding user's mobile phone 2 is displayed. Next, control proceeds to S52, where a conversation is held in response to the speech, and the contents of the conversation are displayed on the mobile phone 2.

[0068] Next, the process proceeds to S53, where it is determined whether the user himself / herself desires to talk. This is determined by whether the user has expressed an intention to desire to talk by operating his / her mobile phone 2. If the user himself / herself does not desire to talk, it is determined in S54 whether the conversation has ended, and if the conversation has not yet ended, the control returns to S52.

[0069] On the other hand, if the user himself / herself desires to talk, the control proceeds to S55, where the user's own conversation is switched to and the conversation is continued. Next, in S56, it is determined whether the conversation has ended, and if not, the process of S55 continues. Then, when the conversation has ended, the process returns to S50.

[0070] In this way, when another avatar speaks to the user in the virtual world, the user's agent (avatar) will initially handle the situation, so the user does not need to constantly monitor the virtual world and can keep their attention focused solely on the real world.

[0071] The agent (avatar) may be a resident agent that resides in a user terminal (such as the mobile phone 2), or a mobile agent that is usually stored in a database (such as the user database 11) of the service provider 8 or in the user terminal and moves to a required location as required.

[0072] There are two types of agents (avatars) displayed in the virtual world. The first agent is displayed at a geographical location in the virtual world that corresponds to the current location of the user in the real world and is capable of conversing with those who enter the virtual world. The second agent is used to display the person who enters the virtual world at their entry location. In the virtual world, it is desirable to make the first agent and the second agent visually distinguishable. This is so that when a person who enters the virtual world meets another agent (avatar), he or she can distinguish whether the agent (avatar) is an agent (avatar) of the user in the real world or an agent (avatar) of the person who enters the virtual world, and can choose whether to talk to the person and what to talk about.

[0073] 12 is a flow chart showing the generation control of a shared virtual tag for business use. This shared virtual tag for business use is intended to generate a community where attendees who visit an event such as an exhibition or concert can later contact the organizers or each other. In this invention, "event" is a broad concept that includes not only exhibitions but also various promotions, concerts, live performances, etc., and is a concept that includes all events that gather a large number of people. It also includes not only events held in the real world but also events held in the virtual world.

[0074] In the case of an event held in the real world, a shared virtual tag (community) between the organizer and each attendee is generated by using a mobile phone as the terminal for each attendee as described above, and a wireless LAN access point 7 that covers the event venue as its communication area as the terminal for the organizer to generate the shared virtual tag (community). On the other hand, in the case of an event held in the virtual world, a shared virtual tag (community) is generated by communication between the agent (avatar) of each attendee and the venue agent that makes up the virtual event venue.

[0075] In Fig. 12, control similar to that in Fig. 7 is performed, and differences will be mainly described here. In Fig. 12, steps similar to those in Fig. 7 are given the same step numbers.

[0076] First, the event organizer's wireless LAN access point 7 or the venue agent determines whether the event start time has arrived and waits until the event start time. When it determines that the event start time has arrived, it transmits personal authentication data including its own (the organizer's) user ID to the server 10. The server 10 performs personal authentication based on the received data in the same manner as in FIG. 7, and returns access permission if authentication is successful (S7). The wireless LAN access point 7 or the venue agent that receives this transmits the scheduled start time and scheduled end time of the event to the server 10 in S101. The server 10 stores the received scheduled start time and scheduled end time of the event (S102).

[0077] Meanwhile, participants who have agreed to the creation of a shared virtual tag (community) with the organizer execute the processes of S1 to S3 as in Fig. 7 using their mobile phones 2 or agents (avatars). The processes of S1 to S3 are executed by each mobile phone 2 (or agent) of the participants who have agreed to the creation of a shared virtual tag (community), and are therefore executed repeatedly the number of times equal to the number of participants who have agreed (S103). The wireless LAN access point 7 or venue agent that receives the variable shared virtual tag ID transmitted each time transmits the current location data of the wireless LAN access point 7 or venue agent and each variable shared virtual tag ID to the server 10 as in Fig. 7, requesting the creation of a shared virtual tag (community) (S9).

[0078] The server 10 that receives it determines whether or not the received time is between the scheduled start time and scheduled end time received in S102, i.e., whether or not it is within the event duration (S104). If it is determined that it is not within the event duration, control ends without generating a business-use shared virtual tag. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is within the event duration, processing for generating a business-use shared virtual tag is executed in S105.

[0079] A flowchart of the subroutine program for this business-use shared virtual tag generation process is shown in Fig. 12. The flowchart in Fig. 12 is similar to the flowchart in Fig. 8, and the same step numbers are used for the same control steps, with the contents of those steps omitted.

[0080] Each step of S15, S16, S16a, S16b, S16c, S16d, and S17 to S24 has the same control content as each step shown in FIG. 8. However, in S16d of FIG. 8, whether or not the distance is within a predetermined distance is determined based on whether or not the distance is within a range of about 10 meters, but in this business-use shared virtual tag generation process, whether or not the distance is within the range of the size of the event venue is determined. After the control of S17, the control proceeds to S200, where it is determined whether or not the specified user ID (user ID of the organizer) is already stored in the virtual tag database 9. If it is not yet stored, that is, in the case of the first request to generate a business-use shared virtual tag (community), the control proceeds to S18. On the other hand, if it is determined in S200 that the specified user ID (user ID of the organizer) is already stored in the virtual tag database 9, the control proceeds to S201, where the user ID received at the time of access is stored in the virtual tag database 9, and the data of the shared virtual tag is stored in association with the user ID. Then, the control proceeds to S19.

[0081] As a result of this business-use shared virtual tag generation process, a shared virtual tag is generated that includes all participants who agreed to the generation of the business-use shared virtual tag during the event and performed the tag generation operation, as well as the organizer. By accessing this business-use shared virtual tag, a community page that the organizer has generated in advance is displayed, and various notices and messages from the organizer are displayed to the participants. A message page is also provided for participants, and participants can write on it to enable communication between participants and between the participants and the organizer.

[0082] [Modification of the first embodiment] Next, modifications of the first embodiment will be listed.

[0083] (1) In the detailed explanation above, we have given an example of taking advantage of the advantage of the virtual world, that is, the ability of users to teleport freely to any desired location at any time, but the advantages of the virtual world are not limited to this. As mentioned above, in the virtual world, in addition to the shared virtual tag, various virtual tags (see Figure 3) can be accumulated and displayed in chronological order, and users can access past virtual tags to view and write within them. In other words, the virtual world is not limited to a three-dimensional spatial extent, but is a world of four-dimensional time and space, so to speak, in which data can be accumulated and viewed along the time axis. Taking advantage of the characteristics of this four-dimensional time and space world will enable a variety of even more attractive services.

[0084] For example, when accessing a virtual world, not only the access location but also the past date and time to be accessed can be specified, allowing access to the specified location and date and time. For example, if you specify Akihabara, Tokyo as the access location and June 8, 2008 as the past date and time to be accessed, you can access a virtual tag created on the day of a random assassination incident that occurred in Akihabara, Tokyo on June 8, 2008, and view the situation at the time and the footage captured on camera. You can also exchange information with the person who created the virtual tag via the virtual tag.

[0085] As another example, various incidents and events that occurred in the past may be displayed in a list along with the date and location of occurrence, and by selecting and clicking on an event from the list, one may be able to jump to the virtual time-space of the corresponding date and time at the corresponding location.

[0086] By storing virtual tags over many years in a virtual space-time that allows time-machine-like access using the time axis, the virtual space-time can grow into a huge historical database. Moreover, because a huge number of users themselves take the initiative in storing data in this historical database, a huge historical database can be built without incurring any costs.

[0087] (2) In the detailed explanation above, an avatar (agent) was shown as an avatar of the user corresponding to the user, but in addition, an independent character (agent) not corresponding to any user may live in the virtual world. The characters (agents) are composed of intelligent agents programmed to converse and interact with users who have entered the virtual world, and each character (agent) has its own unique personality. A user who has entered the virtual world finds a character (agent) that best matches him or her and engages in intellectual exchange within the virtual world. This is also a modified example of the second embodiment described later.

[0088] (3) In the detailed explanation above, an example in which a shared virtual tag is created by two people has been shown, but the number of people involved is not limited to this, and may be three or more. In addition, after the shared virtual tag is created, a third party who has been permitted to access the shared virtual tag by all the parties involved in creating the shared virtual tag may later access the shared virtual tag. As an example of access control, the third party first has the shared virtual tag creator notify the third party of the exact location and creation date and time of the shared virtual tag. This information is necessary to identify the shared virtual tag to which access is permitted. Next, the third party has all the parties involved in creating the shared virtual tag notify them of their variable shared virtual tag IDs as evidence that access has been permitted by the parties. Then, the notified information is transmitted to the server 10 to permit access.

[0089] (4) A memo function that can be written and viewed only by one of the co-owners of a shared virtual tag may be provided. With this memo function, for example, a user can make a memo (write and record) of matters that the other person does not want to read, such as the first impression of the other person, how they met, and the circumstances at the time, and can view the memo later. This can be used as a basis for deciding whether or not to access the shared virtual tag and contact the other person.

[0090] (5) In the above embodiment, a shared virtual tag is displayed in a virtual world. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The virtual world may be eliminated, and a shared contact page may be directly accessed and operated from a user terminal.

[0091] Specifically, in the flowchart of the shared virtual tag generation process described above, instead of step S19, a step of "sending a shared virtual tag to the mobile phone of the user ID identified from the received variable shared virtual tag ID and to the mobile phone of the person requesting the generation of the shared virtual tag" is used. This process causes the shared virtual tag to be stored in the terminal of the party (such as a mobile phone) rather than in the virtual world. When the party selects and clicks the shared virtual tag they wish to access from among the shared virtual tags stored in their mobile phone, the designation of the clicked shared virtual tag is sent to the server 10 by the aforementioned S90, and control from S91 onwards is executed.

[0092] In this simplified system, the shared virtual tag is not displayed in the virtual world at a specific geographical location such as the place where the two people met, so it becomes impossible to trace the memories of the time when the two people met from that geographical location. Therefore, it is a good idea to display the shared virtual tag on the mobile phone together with information (such as an address) that can identify the geographical location where the shared virtual tag was generated.

[0093] (6) It may be possible for one party to cancel a shared virtual tag. When the server 10 receives a cancellation request from the mobile phone 2 (including the user ID of the person), it searches the virtual tag database 9 and stores the cancellation information (flag, etc.) in association with the received user ID. This controls the mobile phone 2 of the person canceling the tag so that a pop-up notification is not sent to the canceling party, even if a post is made by the other party of the canceled shared virtual tag.

[0094] (7) A means may be employed to prevent stalking behavior that exploits the virtual world, such as following a user moving around in the real world in the virtual world. Specifically, a user registers a specific area, such as near his or her home or workplace, in advance in the user database 11 of the service provider 8, and when an avatar (agent) is overlaid and displayed in the virtual world in S38, control is performed so that the avatar (agent) is not displayed within the registered specific area. This is also a modified example of the second embodiment described later.

[0095] (8) Even if you forget to tell the other person that you want to create a shared virtual tag, it is desirable to prepare a way to contact them later. For example, first, not only the location data is updated by S32, but past location data and time data are also stored as history in the user database 11. Then, when you meet someone in the real world, the virtual world, or between the virtual world and the real world, you can register the geographical location and time of the meeting (meeting time registration), and when you want to contact someone later, have the server 10 search for a person who matches the registered geographical location and time, and make an offer to contact the person found (for example, make an offer to create a shared virtual tag to the other person via the service provider 8).

[0096] The search for the other party is based on the historical data of the location data and time data stored in the user database 11, and the other party whose history data matches the geographical location and time of meeting specified by the contact proposer is identified. The geographical location and time are registered (meeting time registration) by the user operating the mobile phone 2, and the mobile phone 2 itself registers the geographical location and time, or the server 10 registers the geographical location and time in the user database 11. The time to be registered should be any time during the meeting, the time of meeting and the time of separation, or the time of separation and the time of meeting, which is convenient for searching the other party. In order to prevent contact proposals by spoofing, etc., it is preferable to have the server 10 register the meeting time in the user database 11 at the time of meeting. At this time, the steps of changing the above-mentioned S4 to S7 and S8 to "meeting time registration request operation", the step of changing S9 to "request for meeting time registration by sending geographical location data and time data of meeting" and the step of changing S10 to "meeting time registration process" are executed. In the meeting time registration process, the current location of the person requesting meeting time registration is obtained based on the transmitted user ID, and the transmitted geographical location data and time data are registered in the user database 11 in association with the user ID under the conditions that the transmitted geographical location data is within a predetermined distance (for example, within 10 meters) and that the transmitted time data and the current time are within an acceptable range.

[0097] If the other party agrees to the offer to create a shared virtual tag, a shared virtual tag will be created at the place where they met, etc. However, if the other party wishes to use a contact method other than the shared virtual tag (for example, by sending an email address or phone number) and the offerer of creating the shared virtual tag agrees, the two parties can simply exchange email addresses and phone numbers, and it is not necessarily necessary to create a shared virtual tag.

[0098] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the virtual world is mainly limited to the current virtual world, but in the second embodiment, the virtual world is not limited to the current virtual world, but also includes past and future virtual worlds.

[0099] In addition, in the second embodiment, in addition to the server described in the first embodiment, control flow charts for various computers, such as a police server, an advertiser client, an advertiser server, a store owner client, etc. The hardware configurations of the various computers that appear for the first time in the second embodiment are similar to those described in the first embodiment based on Fig. 6, so in the second embodiment, repeated explanations of the hardware configurations of the various computers will be omitted.

[0100] First, the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a will be described with reference to Fig. 14. This user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a is a modified example of the user database 11 shown in Fig. 4 in the first embodiment. Here, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

[0101] The user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a stores various data, such as a user ID, a shared virtual tag ID, an agent ID, a current location (GPS data, etc.), location data, and schedule. As described below, a schedule is data input by the user himself / herself through the mobile phone 2 regarding future plans, and is future data. For example, if a user plans to participate in an XX event on a certain date and time, the user inputs data on the XX event, date and time, and location from the mobile phone 2, and the data is stored in the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a in association with the user ID.

[0102] The current position (GPS data, etc.) is composed of latitude data x, longitude data y, and sea level (altitude) data z. This data is position data calculated by combining GPS data from the mobile phone 2 carried by the user, radio waves from the base station 3 connected to the mobile phone network 4, and radio waves from the wireless LAN access point 7. For example, in the case of a user with a user ID of 1R37P8, the latitude x=35.69419, longitude y=139.714849, and sea level (altitude) z=28 mm. This z data is height (altitude) data determined from the access point 7 installed on a floor of a high-rise building when the user enters the building, for example, and receives radio waves from the access point 7 with the mobile phone 2. When the user has not entered the high-rise building, the altitude data is not known, and is therefore "z=unknown" as shown in FIG. 13.

[0103] This current position data changes as the user moves. In the second embodiment, the history of the changes is stored along the time axis w going back to the past. That is, this user four-dimensional coordinate database stores three-dimensional data of x, y, and z, and history data that changes along the time axis w, thereby storing four-dimensional coordinate data. This position information (x, y, z) is stored in the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a according to the above-mentioned S30 to S32, and the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a also cumulatively stores past position information (x, y, z), so that the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a stores position information x, y, z along the time axis w.

[0104] Moreover, since "schedule" data is also stored, not only the user's past location data but also future plan data is stored.

[0105] As explained in the first embodiment, the user ID "θ42S15" is the ID of the user himself / herself, since the agent himself / herself is treated as the user.

[0106] Next, with reference to FIG. 15, a flow chart showing a main routine program of the mobile phone 2 and the server 10 of the service provider 8 in the second embodiment will be described.

[0107] Referring to Figure 15(a), in the mobile phone 2, current virtual world terminal processing is executed by S300, past virtual world terminal processing is executed by S301, future virtual world terminal processing is executed by S302, authentication terminal processing is executed by S303, virtual world advertising terminal processing is executed by S304, and marketing terminal processing is executed by S305, and then control returns to S300.

[0108] Referring to Figure 15 (b), in the server 10, current virtual world corresponding processing is executed by S310, past virtual world corresponding processing is executed by S311, future virtual world corresponding processing is executed by S312, authentication processing is executed by S313, virtual world advertising corresponding processing is executed by S314, and marketing corresponding processing is executed by S315, and then control returns to S310.

[0109] The current virtual world terminal processing and the current world virtual world corresponding processing are processing for providing various services utilizing the current virtual world. The past virtual world terminal processing and the past virtual world corresponding processing are processing for providing various services utilizing the past virtual world as a stage. The future virtual world terminal processing and the future virtual world corresponding processing are processing for providing various services utilizing the future of the virtual world as a stage. The authentication terminal processing and the authentication processing are processing for performing authentication utilizing the four-dimensional coordinate data stored in the user four-dimensional coordinate database of FIG. 14. The virtual world advertisement terminal processing and the virtual world advertisement corresponding processing are processing for displaying advertisements in the virtual world and enabling monetization through revenue from advertisers. The marketing terminal processing and the marketing corresponding processing are processing for collecting history data of the user's actions (movements in place and time) in the virtual world (four-dimensional space-time) and utilizing it for marketing. Details of each of these processes will be described later.

[0110] Fig. 16(a) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the current virtual world terminal processing shown in S300 of Fig. 15(a). Referring to Fig. 16(a), in the current virtual world terminal processing, shared virtual tag terminal processing is performed by S320, virtual world display terminal processing is performed by S321, emergency terminal processing is performed by S322, disaster terminal processing is performed by S323, cyber special zone terminal processing is performed by S324, common point search request processing is performed by S325, community virtual tag terminal processing is performed by S326, and link source designated terminal processing is performed by S327.

[0111] Fig. 16(b) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the current virtual world correspondence processing shown by S310 in Fig. 15(b). Referring to Fig. 16(b), in the current virtual world correspondence processing, common virtual tag correspondence processing is executed by S330, virtual world display correspondence processing is executed by S331, emergency correspondence processing is executed by S332, disaster correspondence processing is executed by S333, cyber special zone correspondence processing is executed by S334, common point search processing is executed by S335, community virtual tag correspondence processing is executed by S336, user four-dimensional coordinate search processing is executed by S337, and link source designation correspondence processing is executed by S338.

[0112] The shared virtual tag terminal processing and the shared virtual tag corresponding processing are specifically the controls shown in Figures 7, 8, and 10 to 13. The virtual world terminal processing and the virtual world display corresponding processing are processing in which the user enters the virtual world and displays the virtual world corresponding to the place and time at which the user entered. The virtual world display corresponding processing will be described later with reference to Figure 31.

[0113] The emergency terminal processing and emergency response processing are processing for displaying a message such as "Help me!" in the virtual world corresponding to the user's current location when an emergency occurs and the user requests help. The message "Help me!" may be displayed as a virtual tag not only in the virtual world but also in the real world of the user's current location. When the user moves, the mobile phone 2 carried by the user also moves, and the message is controlled so that it moves and is displayed in the virtual world and the real world in accordance with the movement of the mobile phone 2.

[0114] It should be noted that the execution of this terminal processing in emergency may be detected by the server 10, and control may be performed so as to automatically notify the police, security agencies, medical institutions, etc. Furthermore, emergency evacuation shelters (convenience stores, gas stations, or public facilities on standby such as police and fire departments) may be displayed on the mobile phone 2 of the user who performed the operation to execute the terminal processing in emergency.

[0115] The disaster terminal processing and disaster response processing are processing for controlling the display of location displays required in the virtual world, such as evacuation shelters, hospitals, fire stations, and police stations. This location display processing uses virtual tags dedicated to disasters that are different from normal virtual tags. In other words, it operates independently as a disaster information provision system, and provides information, makes contact, creates messages, and displays them using virtual tags dedicated to disasters. This makes it possible to avoid confusion in information during emergencies and provide accurate information during disasters. In addition to displaying the above-mentioned location information, the information provided includes information on injured and sick people at hospitals and evacuation shelters, comprehensive information on disasters, and displaying emergency messages at evacuation shelters, etc.

[0116] Cyber ​​special zone terminal processing and cyber special zone compatible processing are control processing in cyberspace that is determined by the government or other organizations to apply special rules that are different from the social rules applied in the real world. For example, the virtual world that users can enter is configured into multiple layers, with the first layer being a cyberspace where the same social rules as the real world are applied, the second layer being a cyberspace where social rules such as a high consumption tax rate (e.g., 20%) are applied and where social welfare is enhanced accordingly, and the third layer being a cyberspace where a symbiotic economy is applied (symbiotic economy cyberspace), for example.

[0117] The symbiotic economy is the formation of a self-sufficient zone (called the FEC self-sufficiency zone) of F (foods), E (energy), and C (care = human relations in a broad sense) at the citizen level. In the symbiotic economy cyber zone, an economic zone independent of the Japanese yen-based monetary economy will be established through solidarity, participation, and cooperation. Cyberspace will then be effectively utilized to contribute to the formation of the FEC self-sufficiency zone.

[0118] In order to establish an economic zone independent of the yen-based monetary economy, for example, a virtual currency unique to the Symbiotic Economy Cyber ​​Special Zone could be issued, and that virtual currency could be used to directly conduct external transactions with countries that use the yen or the dollar under a floating exchange rate system, thereby making the Symbiotic Economy Cyber ​​Special Zone an economic zone independent from the real world in economic terms.

[0119] Furthermore, instead of issuing virtual currency, we may introduce a "respect number" in the respect market. The "respect number" is value information that shows respect for the other person. The "respect number" received from others and accumulated will be recognized as having at least part of the original function of money (exchange value and standard (scale) of value). This will provide motivation other than economic profit to develop the voluntary economy.

[0120] The common point search request process and the common point search process are processes for searching for common points between a certain user and another user, such as places of activities, etc. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0121] The community virtual tag terminal process and the community virtual tag response process are processes for generating a community virtual tag for exchanging opinions about an event that occurred in the real world (such as a guerrilla live performance or a total solar eclipse) in the virtual world and the real world corresponding to the location where the event occurred. Details will be described later with reference to Figures 18 to 20.

[0122] The link source designation terminal processing and the link source designation response processing are the processing of trackbacks to attach hyperlinks to the original behavioral history when a user writes a blog or the like based on the user's conversations and behavioral history stored as history in the virtual world (on four-dimensional coordinates). Details will be described later with reference to Figures 22 and 23.

[0123] The user four-dimensional coordinate search process is a process for searching for a user located in a certain closed space in four-dimensional coordinates by a specific organization such as the police. For example, when a murder occurs at a certain time in a certain place, the process is used to search for and identify the time of the murder and users (witnesses, etc.) who were near the place where the murder occurred, which should be investigated. The details will be explained based on FIG. 21.

[0124] Fig. 17 is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the common point search request process shown in S325 of Fig. 16 and the common point search process shown in S335. As described above, the common point search request process searches for geographical common points in the actions of users, and is executed between the users' mobile phones A or B or the agents A or B. First, in the mobile phone A or the agent A, a determination is made in S370 as to whether or not a common point search operation has been performed. If an operation to search for mutual common points has been performed, a YES determination is made in S370, and the process proceeds to S371, where a process of reading out the shared virtual tag ID is performed. In the case of the mobile phone A, this is a process of reading out the shared virtual tag ID stored in the EEPROM 42, and in the case of the agent A, this is a process of reading out the shared virtual tag ID stored in the agent A as knowledge data.

[0125] Next, control proceeds to S372, where a process of generating a variable shared virtual tag ID using GPS time information is performed. This process is the same as the process of S2 in FIG. 7, and a repeated description is omitted here. Next, in S373, a process of transmitting the variable shared virtual tag ID to the mobile phone B or the agent B is performed. In the mobile phone B or the agent B, first, in S376, it is determined whether or not a common point search operation has been performed. If not, this subroutine program is terminated, but if so, in S377, the variable shared virtual tag ID transmitted from the mobile phone A or the agent A is received. Next, in S378, it is determined whether or not to access the server 10, and the process waits until the server 10 is accessed. Then, if the user operates the mobile phone B to perform an operation to access the server 10, or if the agent B determines to access the server 10, a YES determination is made in S378, and control proceeds to S379, where a process of transmitting personal authentication data including the user ID to the server 10 is performed.

[0126] The server 10 receives it (S384), performs identity verification in S385, and then transmits access permission in S386 to the mobile phone B or the agent B. The processes in S378, S379, and S384 to S386 are similar to the processes in S4 to S7 in Fig. 7, and detailed descriptions will not be repeated here.

[0127] Mobile phone B or agent B receives the access permission sent from server 10 (S380), and in S381 transmits the current location data of mobile phone B or agent B and the variable shared virtual tag ID of mobile phone A or agent A to server 10 to request a search for common points.

[0128] The server 10 receives it (S387) and executes the same steps as S16, S16a to S16c, S16d, and S20 to S24 shown in FIG. 8. Next, if YES is determined in S16d, the control proceeds to S388, where the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a of both parties, i.e., the mobile phones A and B or the agents A and B, is searched to identify data common only to the positions of both parties and data common to both the positions and the times. Next, in S389, the identified data is transmitted to the mobile phone A or agent A and the mobile phone B or agent B. The mobile phone A or agent A receives it (S374) and displays the received data (S375). The mobile phone B or agent B receives the data transmitted in S389 (S382) and displays the received data (S383).

[0129] This control allows the owner of cell phone A and the owner of cell phone B, or agent A and agent B, to confirm geographical commonalities in their own actions. For example, they can confirm commonalities such as both having watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup or often eating at the same restaurants, providing useful information for future communication.

[0130] Furthermore, instead of a request to search for common points being made by only one party (cell phone B or agent B) alone, the request can be made on the condition that the other party (cell phone A or agent A) sends a variable shared virtual tag ID (see S373, S377). This allows the parties to exchange common points (personal information) with each other under mutual agreement, thereby eliminating privacy issues.

[0131] 18 to 20 are flow charts showing subroutine programs of the community virtual tag terminal process shown in S326 of FIG. 16 and the community virtual tag response process shown in S336. First, in the server 10, it is determined in S410 whether or not an event input operation has been performed, and if not, the process proceeds to S412. For example, when an event such as a total solar eclipse, a tornado, or a guerrilla live performance by a famous entertainer occurs, an employee (operator) of the service provider 8 inputs the occurrence location and occurrence time of the event that is considered to be important to the server 10. For example, in the case of a total solar eclipse or a tornado, since the occurrence location moves with time, the event is input as four-dimensional coordinate data consisting of x, y, and z representing the occurrence location and w of the change in time, as in the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a shown in FIG. 14. Then, YES is determined in S410, and the process proceeds to S411, where the event name, occurrence location, and occurrence time are stored in the event four-dimensional coordinate database (not shown).

[0132] Meanwhile, in the mobile phone 2, a determination is made in S400 as to whether or not the community virtual tag has been operated, and if not, control proceeds to S424 shown in Fig. 20 where a determination is made as to whether or not an operation to access the community virtual tag has been performed, and if not, the subroutine program for this community virtual tag terminal processing ends. On the other hand, if the user operates the mobile phone 2 to input an operation for the community virtual tag, a YES determination is made in S400 and control proceeds to S401 where a determination is made as to whether or not an operation to store the current position and time has been performed, and if not, a determination is made in S403 as to whether or not a community virtual tag generation operation has been performed, and if not, the subroutine program for the community virtual tag terminal processing ends.

[0133] On the other hand, if the user happens to encounter a guerrilla live performance, a tornado, or the like, an operation to store the current location of the encounter and the current time is performed on the mobile phone 2. Then, a YES determination is made in S401, and the current location and time, i.e., the location (x, y, z) and time (w) at which the guerrilla live performance or tornado was encountered, are stored in the EEPROM 42 in S402.

[0134] Next, when the user operates the mobile phone 2 to perform an operation for generating a community virtual tag, a YES determination is made in S403 and control proceeds to S404, where a determination is made as to whether an operation for selecting and specifying the stored information stored in the above-mentioned S402 has been input. If no operation has been input, a determination is made in S405 as to whether an operation for inputting the location and time to be accessed has been input. If not, control returns to S404 and goes through a loop of S404 → S405 → S404. For example, if the user wants to generate a community virtual tag for an event already stored in the mobile phone 2 based on the processing of S402, the user selects the event to be generated from the stored information. Then, a YES determination is made in S404 and control proceeds to S406, where the selected and input location, time, and user ID are transmitted to the server 10, and a process of requesting the generation of a community virtual tag is performed.

[0135] On the other hand, if the user encounters an event (such as a guerrilla live performance or a tornado) but does not store the current location and time at the time of the encounter, and wishes to generate a community virtual tag for the encountered event, the user manually inputs the location and time of the encounter based on his or her own memory into the mobile phone 2. Then, a YES determination is made in S405 and control proceeds to S406, where the input location, time, and user ID are sent to the server 10 and a request is made to generate a community virtual tag.

[0136] The server 10 receives a request to generate a community virtual tag from the mobile phone 2 (S412), and in S413 determines whether or not a community virtual tag has already been generated for the received position and time. If a community virtual tag has been generated, control proceeds to S414, and a message indicating that the tag has already been generated is returned to the mobile phone 2. The user can then access the community virtual tag that has already been generated.

[0137] On the other hand, if a community virtual tag has not yet been generated, control proceeds to S415, where it is determined whether or not an event corresponding to the received position and time has already been stored. This is a determination as to whether or not the event name, occurrence location, and occurrence time have already been stored in the above-mentioned S411, and if an event has already been stored by an employee of the service provider 8 operating the server 10, control proceeds to S416, where a community virtual tag is generated at the occurrence location of the event, the occurrence time of the event is displayed on the community virtual tag, and further the community name entered by the employee of the service provider 8 is displayed, and the subroutine program for this community virtual tag handling process ends. An example of a community name is "Mr. XX holds a guerrilla live performance at Dogenzaka, Shibuya! Witnesses gather!".

[0138] On the other hand, if the determination in S415 is NO, control proceeds to S421. In S421, a process is performed in which a request to input the time the event occurred is transmitted to the mobile phone 2. The mobile phone 2 receives this (S417), and in S418 displays an input screen for the time the event occurred. In S419, it is determined whether or not the user has input the time of the event, and the process waits until this is the case. Note that in addition to the time of the event, a screen for inputting the community name may also be displayed, and the user may input the community name.

[0139] When the user operates the mobile phone 2 to input the time when the event occurred, control proceeds to S420, where the input time is transmitted to the server 10. The server 10 receives it (S422), and then control proceeds to S423, where a community virtual tag is generated at the position received in S412, and the received time is displayed as the time when the event occurred in S422.

[0140] If a NO determination is made in S400 and a YES determination is made in S424, control proceeds to S425, where information specifying the community virtual tag to be accessed and the user ID are transmitted to the server 10. The information specifying the community virtual tag to be accessed may be, for example, data specifying the location where the community virtual tag is generated or the location and time. As another example, as described in FIG. 5, this community virtual tag may be stored in the EEPROM 42 in the same way as the shared virtual tag, and the user may perform an operation to display a list of community virtual tags, and select and click the community virtual tag that the user wishes to access from the list, whereby the clicked community virtual tag is automatically specified and transmitted to the server 10.

[0141] The server 10 receives the information transmitted in S425 (S432), and in S433 searches a community virtual tag database (not shown) to extract the position of the specified community virtual tag and the occurrence time of the event. Next, control proceeds to S434, where a process is performed to compare the four-dimensional coordinate data (w, x, y, z) of the user identified from the user ID received in S432 with the position (x, y, z) and occurrence time w of the extracted community virtual tag. Then, in S435, it is determined whether the two match, and if they do not match, an access refusal is returned to the mobile phone 2 in S436. On the other hand, if it is determined in S435 that the two match, control proceeds to S437, where the page of the accessed community virtual tag is transmitted to the mobile phone 2, and the mobile phone 2 is controlled to display the page.

[0142] In the mobile phone 2, an access refusal or a community virtual tag page is received in S426, and a determination is made in S427 as to whether or not an access refusal has been received. If an access refusal has been received, the access refusal is displayed on the mobile phone 2 in S428, while if an access refusal has not been received, the process proceeds to S429, where the community virtual tag page is extracted and made viewable.

[0143] Next, in S430, when the user writes a message or text on the page, the written information is sent to the server 10. In the server 10, in S438, the written information is stored in the community virtual tag database. Specifically, the written information is stored in association with the corresponding community virtual tag. Next, when the user operates the mobile phone 2 to perform an end operation (S431), the end operation signal is sent to the server 10, and in S439, the server 10 performs an end process of the community virtual tag corresponding process.

[0144] In the community virtual tag terminal processing and community virtual tag corresponding processing described above, as a result of the access control in S434 to S437, only the mobile phone 2 of the user who was in the vicinity of the occurrence location at the time of occurrence of the event of the community virtual tag to be accessed is permitted to access. However, this is not limited to this, and access may also be permitted by the mobile phone 2 of the user who was in a different location at the time of occurrence of the event. In this case, a difference may be set between an encounter user who encountered the event and a non-encounter user who did not encounter the event with regard to restrictions on writing within the page of the community virtual tag. For example, a non-encounter user may be allowed to write and view only a page for non-encounter users, whereas an encounter user may be allowed to write and view a page dedicated to encounter users and also write and view a page for non-encounter users.

[0145] FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the user four-dimensional coordinate search process shown in S337 of FIG.

[0146] A server (not shown) installed at a police station processes a user four-dimensional coordinate search request. First, in S450, personal authentication data is sent to the server 10 to make a search request. This personal authentication data is composed of, for example, an electronic certificate (or attribute certificate) issued by a predetermined authentication organization that authenticates that the server is a police server. The server 10 receives the search request (S454), and in S455 replies to the police server that the request is permitted after confirming that the server is a legitimate police server.

[0147] The police server receives it (S451) and transmits the next data as the search target range in S452.

[0148] a≦w≦bc≦x≦de≦y≦fz is not an issue The server 10 receives this data (S456), and in S457 searches the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a for users present within the received search range. Next, in S458, the search results are sent to the police server, which receives them in S453.

[0149] This has the advantage that, for example, when an investigation is conducted after a murder has occurred, people (witnesses) who were in the vicinity of the murder site at the time of the murder can be easily identified, making it possible to conduct an investigation without waste.

[0150] FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the link source designation terminal process shown in S327 of FIG. 16 and the link source designation response process shown in S338. In the mobile phone 2, a determination is made in S460 as to whether or not a link source designation operation has been performed, and if not, the subroutine program of the link source designation terminal process is terminated. For example, if a user enters a virtual world of the time and place of a random murder incident to cover a certain theme such as a random murder incident, talks to the user's avatar (agent) in the vicinity to cover the incident, and writes a blog or the like based on the incident, and then embeds a hyperlink in the user's blog with the scene of the coverage (conversation content in the virtual world, etc.) as the link source and wants to perform a trackback to the link source, the user operates the mobile phone 2 to perform a link source designation operation. Specifically, the user inputs the four-dimensional coordinates (w, x, y, z) of the start point of the conversation during the coverage, etc. Then, a YES determination is made in S460, and the input start point coordinate data of the link source space-time is transmitted to the server 10 in S461.

[0151] The server 10 receives it (S467), and in S468 performs a process of storing a URL specifying the time-space of the four-dimensional coordinates of the specified starting point in the hyperlink database 60 (see FIG. 23).

[0152] Furthermore, in the mobile phone 2, in S462, the four-dimensional coordinates (w, x, y, z) of the end point of the interview (conversation) are input. Then, a process is performed to transmit the input coordinate data (w, x, y, z) specifying the end point of the link source space-time to the server 10. The server 10 receives it (S469), and in S470, a process is performed to store in the hyperlink database 60 a URL that specifies the space-time of the four-dimensional coordinates of the specified end point.

[0153] Next, in the server 10, a process of S471 is performed in which the start point URL stored in the hyperlink database 60 (see FIG. 23) is transmitted to the mobile phone 2. The mobile phone 2 receives it (S463), and in S464, a process of embedding the received start point URL in the linked content (e.g., a blog, etc.) is performed. Next, the process proceeds to S465 in which it is determined whether or not the user has performed a trackback operation. If the user operates the mobile phone 2 to perform a trackback operation, control proceeds to S466 in which the URL of the linked content (blog, etc.) is transmitted to the server 10 as a trackback.

[0154] The server 10 receives it (S472), and in S473 performs processing to store the received URL in the hyperlink database 60 (see FIG. 23) as a link destination URL.

[0155] 23 is a diagram for explaining data stored in the hyperlink database 60. This hyperlink database 60 is installed in the service provider 8, and data is written to and read from the hyperlink database 60 by the server 10.

[0156] The hyperlink database 60 stores data on the start point URL, the end point URL, the link destination URL, and the comment data. For example, http: / / abc is stored as the start point URL, http: / / opq as the end point URL, and http: / / hij as the link destination URL. In the above-mentioned S471, for example, http: / / abc is transmitted to the mobile phone 2 as the start point URL, and the user embeds the received http: / / abc in the content (blog, etc.). If another person accesses the content (blog, etc.) and clicks on the embedded start point URL http: / / abc, the other person can jump (move) to the virtual space (four-dimensional coordinate space) specified by the URL and access it. After that, while time passes until the virtual space (four-dimensional coordinate space) specified by the end point URL http: / / opq, the conversation such as the contents of the user's interview is displayed in the virtual space with the passage of time. Then, another person who sees the exchange of the conversation contents can post a comment at a desired point in the middle of the conversation or at the end of the conversation.

[0157] As shown in Fig. 23, posted comment data is stored in a hyperlink database 60. When the four-dimensional time-space of the conversation content to which the comment was posted is accessed, the posted comment is displayed together with the exchange of conversation content. In addition, the linked URL http: / / hij is also displayed. If other people click on this linked URL, they can jump to and access the corresponding user's content (blog, etc.).

[0158] The link source designation control explained based on Figures 22 and 23 has a relay function that links (bridges) the virtual world (fourth-dimensional space-time) with cyberspace such as blogs and SNS (Social Networking Service). The object to be linked may be anything as long as it is a virtual world (fourth-dimensional space-time), such as the above-mentioned community virtual tag and the posting page linked to it, the cyber special zone, each area of ​​the historical virtual world described below (see S231), etc. As a modified example, as described below, when it is possible to search within the virtual world (within the fourth-dimensional space-time), ranking may be performed based on the number of links, etc., and the display order of the search results may be controlled to reflect this.

[0159] Figure 24(a) shows a subroutine program for past virtual world terminal processing shown in S301 of Figure 15(a), and Figure 24(b) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program for past virtual world corresponding processing shown in S311 of Figure 15(b).

[0160] Referring to FIG. 24(a), in the past virtual world terminal processing, from S212, a historical virtual world terminal processing is executed, and from S211, other terminal processing is executed.

[0161] With reference to FIG. 24(b), in the past virtual world terminal processing, a historical virtual world correspondence process is executed in S220, and other correspondence processes are executed in S221.

[0162] The historical virtual world terminal processing of S210 and the historical virtual world corresponding processing of S220 are processes that provide history-related services by utilizing the virtual world, which is a four-dimensional space-time.

[0163] The other terminal processing of S210 and the other corresponding processing of S221 are, for example, services such as generating a memorial virtual tag at a memorable place and time such as the place and time of a proposal, and recording and saving memorable photos and words from that time on a page corresponding to the memorial virtual tag, etc. Also, the contents of the pages corresponding to the user's multiple memorial virtual tags from birth to the present are edited in chronological order and displayed, allowing the user to create his or her personal history.

[0164] FIG. 25(a) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the historical virtual world terminal processing shown in S210 of FIG. 24(a), and FIG. 25(b) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the historical virtual world correspondence processing shown in S220 of FIG. 24(b). In the historical virtual world terminal processing, in S230, it is determined whether or not an operation to access the historical virtual world has been performed, and if not, this subroutine program ends. On the other hand, if the user performs an operation to access the historical virtual world using the mobile phone 2, control proceeds to S231, and a process is executed to accept an operation to enter each area in the historical virtual world. Each area in the historical virtual world has four areas, namely, a "history area," a "hypothesis area," a "another world area," and a "information exchange area," and the user operates the mobile phone 2 to select one of these four areas.

[0165] The "History Area" is an area where you can view detailed data on various eras, such as three-dimensional and two-dimensional displays of scenes from the time, audio guidance, historical dates and periods, and what happened to them afterwards.

[0166] The "Hypothesis Area" is an area that provides information that is disputed and differs from the official history. For example, Minamoto no Yoshitsune was not killed and played an active role as Genghis Khan.

[0167] The "Another World Area" is an area where you can view information such as what the world would have been like if a certain person had not been killed at that time in history.

[0168] The "information exchange area" is a community set up within the virtual world of history, similar to today's social networking sites, where users can freely join the community and exchange information about buildings and people.

[0169] The "History Area" is information provided by Service Provider 8 or a service provider specializing in history. In the other areas, the "Hypothesis Area," "Another World Area," and "Information Exchange Area," basic information is provided by Service Provider 8 or a service provider specializing in history, but the system allows users to take the initiative in conveying their own information and thoughts.

[0170] Next, the control proceeds to S232, where the user ID and the selected area of ​​the historical virtual world are transmitted to the server 10.

[0171] The server 10 receives the ID in S238, and performs a process of judging whether the user is a paid member based on the received ID in S239. The server 10 stores data for identifying whether the user is a paid member in association with the user ID. If the user is judged to be a paid member in S240, a process of displaying the virtual history world is executed in S241. On the other hand, if the user is judged to be a general member who is not a paid member, the control proceeds to S242, where it is judged whether the area selected by the user in accordance with S231 is an area for general user display. The server 10 is connected to a virtual history database 62, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 28. The virtual history database 62 stores data so that it can distinguish whether an area is viewable by general users or only by paid members. The server 10 searches this virtual history database 62 to determine whether the selected area is an area for general user display or not. If it is an area for general user display, control proceeds to S241. If it is not an area for general user display, that is, if it is an area that can only be viewed by paying members, control proceeds to S243 and a response is sent to the mobile phone 2 indicating that it cannot be displayed because the user is not a paying member.

[0172] The mobile phone 2 receives the message in S233, and in S234 executes a process to display a message indicating that the message cannot be displayed because the user is not a paying member.

[0173] FIG. 26(b) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the historical virtual world display process shown in S241 of FIG. 25(b). First, in S258, a process is performed to search for a historical tag near the user's current location in the area selected in accordance with S231. The "user's current location" here refers to the user's entry location in the virtual world when the user has entered the virtual world, and refers to the user's current location in the real world when the user has not entered the virtual world. And the "history tag" is a virtual tag displayed in the virtual world and the real world, and is a tag that allows the user to display the historical explanation data and 3D display data stored in association with the historical tag by clicking on it. The title of this historical tag is stored in the historical virtual database 62 in association with each area information. And the historical tag is displayed to the user together with the title.

[0174] Next, control proceeds to S259, where it is determined whether or not multiple history tags exist in chronological order. That is, it is determined whether or not multiple history tags searched for in S258 exist in chronological order in the vicinity of the user's current location. For example, in the case of FIG. 28, when the user's current location is Sekigahara-cho, Fuwa-gun, Gifu Prefecture, a history tag with the title "Battle of Sekigahara" exists on the timeline (w=October 21, 1600), and that history tag is displayed. However, if a history tag corresponding to another history area exists on a different timeline w (period) in the same Sekigahara-cho, Fuwa-gun, Gifu Prefecture, then a YES determination is made in S259, control proceeds to S260, and a process of transmitting the multiple history tags to the mobile phone 2 is performed.

[0175] The mobile phone 2 receives it in S245, and controls to display the received multiple history tags in S246. Next, in S247, it is determined whether or not the user has selected a history tag, and waits until such a selection is made. If a selection is made, a process is performed in S248 to transmit the selected history tag to the server 10. The server 10 receives it in S261. Next, in S262, a control is performed to display the received history tag or one history tag searched for in S258 in the real world or virtual world near the user's current location.

[0176] On the other hand, the mobile phone 2 displays the selected history tag in S249, and judges whether the displayed history tag has been clicked in S250, and repeats the loop of S249 → S250 → S249 until the click is detected. When the user clicks on the displayed history tag, control is performed in S251 to transmit a click signal of the history tag to the server 10. The server 10 receives the signal in S263, and controls in S264 to specify the history explanation data and 3D display data corresponding to the clicked history tag and transmit it to the mobile phone 2. Specifically, the server 10 searches the history virtual database 62 in FIG. 28, searches for the history explanation data and 3D display data stored corresponding to the history area stored corresponding to the title of the clicked history tag, and transmits the searched data to the mobile phone 2. Specifically, when a history tag titled "Battle of Sekigahara" is clicked, the historical explanation data "The battle that determined Tokugawa Ieyasu's hegemony" and the 3D display data stored in association with it are identified, and the data are sent to mobile phone 2.

[0177] Depending on the mobile phone 2, control is performed to receive it in S252, and to display the received history explanation data and 3D display data in S253. Next, in S254, it is determined whether or not a switching operation has been performed to another history tag among the multiple history tags existing in chronological order, and if not, control proceeds to S270, but if a switching operation has been performed, control returns to S246, where the multiple history tags existing in chronological order are displayed again and an operation to select a history tag from among them is performed. This makes it possible to reselect another history tag from the multiple history tags existing in chronological order and display and view the corresponding history explanation data and 3D display data.

[0178] On the other hand, if the determination in S254 is NO, then in S270 it is determined whether or not an entry area has been switched. If not, control proceeds to S271, but if the user has operated the mobile phone 2 to switch the entry / exit area, control returns to S231, and the user is prompted to select the area he or she wants to enter from the four areas and reenter the room.

[0179] If the determination in S270 is NO, then in S271 it is determined whether or not a writing operation has been performed on the page of the area. If not, control proceeds to S273, but if the user has operated the mobile phone 2 to perform a writing operation, control proceeds to S272, where the written data is transmitted to the server 10.

[0180] The server 10 receives it in S277, and performs control to store the written data in the virtual history database 62. For example, the user writes data such as "If the Western Army had won, what would have happened to Japan after that?" as another world information, and "It is believed that the map of Tokugawa Ieyasu's treasure was stolen when the castle tower was lost in the Seinan War..." as hypothetical information, and the written data is written and stored in the virtual history database 62.

[0181] On the other hand, if the user operates the mobile phone 2 to perform a termination operation (S273), a termination operation signal is transmitted to the server 10, which is received in S279 and termination processing is executed in S280.

[0182] FIG. 29(a) shows a subroutine program for the future virtual world terminal processing shown in S302 of FIG. 15, and FIG. 29(b) shows a subroutine program for the future virtual world corresponding processing shown in S312 of FIG.

[0183] First, in the future virtual world terminal processing, weather forecast terminal processing is executed in S700, future dating terminal processing is executed in S701, and future schedule terminal processing is executed in S702.

[0184] In the future virtual world corresponding process, a weather forecast corresponding process is executed in S705, a future dating corresponding process is executed in S706, and a future schedule corresponding process is executed in S707.

[0185] The weather forecast terminal processing and weather forecast response processing are to display the virtual world according to the past, present, and future weather forecasts. For example, if the current weather in Tokyo is rainy, when the user enters the virtual world and accesses the current Tokyo, a rainy landscape is displayed.

[0186] The future schedule terminal processing and future schedule corresponding processing are to display the user's avatar in the future virtual world based on the user's schedule explained based on Fig. 14. For example, referring to Fig. 14, in the case of user ID 13B9PS, the future plan is to participate in the XX event. If this XX event is held in Shibuya Dogenzaka from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm tomorrow, the avatar (agent) of the user 13B9PS will be continuously displayed in Shibuya Dogenzaka from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm tomorrow in the virtual world.

[0187] This control will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 30. Fig. 30 is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the future schedule terminal processing shown in S700 and the future schedule corresponding processing shown in S707. In the user's mobile phone 2, first, in S710, it is determined whether or not a schedule input operation has been performed, and if not, in S714, it is determined whether or not a future virtual world display operation has been performed, and if not, this subroutine program ends.

[0188] When the user operates the mobile phone 2 to input a schedule, a YES determination is made in S710 and control proceeds to S711, where the input schedule including the time and place is stored in, for example, the EEPROM 42 in the mobile phone 2. Next, a determination is made in S712 as to whether or not to notify the server 10, and if the server 10 is not to be notified, control proceeds to S714. On the other hand, when the user performs an operation to notify the server through the mobile phone 2, control proceeds to S713, where the schedule including the input time and place and the user ID are transmitted to the server 10. In response to this, the server 10 performs a process of storing the received schedule including the time and place in the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a in association with the user ID in S720.

[0189] On the other hand, if the user performs a future virtual world display operation using the mobile phone 2, a YES determination is made in S714 and the process proceeds to S715, where the user ID, the access position, and the future access date and time are transmitted to the server 10. The user operates the mobile phone 2 to input the position (place) that the user wishes to access in the future virtual world and the future date and time that the user wishes to access, and the input data is transmitted to the server 10 in S715.

[0190] In response to this, the server 10 executes the processes of S34 to S37 shown in Fig. 9, and then in S722, the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a is searched to identify an avatar (agent) that is scheduled to be in the vicinity of the received access position and at the received future access date and time, and the avatar (agent) is overlaid on the virtual world 3D data and displayed. Next, the processes of S39 to S42 (see Fig. 9) are executed.

[0191] Fig. 31 is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the virtual world display corresponding process shown in S331 of Fig. 16. First, the server 10 executes the same steps as S30 to S32 shown in Fig. 9, and judges whether the user's ID, access position, and access time have been transmitted from the mobile phone 2 in S480. If the user transmits the access position and access time of the virtual world he / she wants to access and his / her user ID from the mobile phone 2 to the server 10, a YES judgement is made in S480, and the same processes as S34 and S35 of Fig. 9 are executed, then the same process as S36 is executed, and then the same process as S37 is executed. Next, the process proceeds to S481, where the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a is searched to identify the user near the access time (w) and access position (x, y, z), and the conversation data with the agent (avatar) is overlaid on the 3D data of the virtual world and displayed. This conversation data is stored in a conversation database 61, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 32, and is the content of conversation between users via agents (avatars) in the virtual world or the content of conversation between the agents (avatars) themselves.

[0192] Next, control proceeds to S482, where it is determined whether or not a linked URL is attached to the displayed virtual world. The linked URL is a linked URL stored in the hyperlink database 60 described with reference to FIG.

[0193] If a link destination URL is not provided, the same processing as shown in S39 to S42 in Fig. 9 is executed. On the other hand, if a link destination URL is provided, control proceeds to S483, where control is performed to display the link destination URL in the virtual world. Next, control proceeds to S484, where it is determined whether a comment has been entered, and if not, the processing of S39 to S42 is executed, but if so, control is performed in S485 to store the entered comment in the hyperlink database 60 (see Fig. 23) and display the comment in the virtual world, and then the processing of S39 to S42 is executed.

[0194] Next, the process proceeds to S486, where it is determined whether or not there has been a request to advance time in the accessed virtual world. When the user is accessing the current virtual world, time advances in the virtual world along with the progress of time in the real world, and the movement of the avatar (agent) is displayed. However, when the user designates a past or future virtual world and accesses it, the virtual world with the time axis w fixed at the designated time (w) is displayed. If the user moves in the virtual world at that time and wishes to advance time at a certain location, the user operates the mobile phone 2 to make a request to advance time and transmits it to the server 10. Then, in S486, a YES determination is made, and the process proceeds to S487, where control is performed to advance the time w, and control returns to S36.

[0195] The progress control (step control) of time w in S487 is for progressing the virtual world at the same progress speed as the normal progress speed of time in the real world, but it is also possible for the user to freely select a progress speed, such as a faster or slower progress speed than in the real world, and request it to the server 10. The server 10 performs step control of time w in S487 according to the requested progress speed. It is also possible to enable control for progressing the time axis w in the reverse direction at a specified speed.

[0196] On the other hand, if the determination in S486 is NO, the control proceeds to S488, where it is determined whether or not there is a request to slide the access position in the virtual world. If the user operates the mobile phone 2 to slide and move the currently accessed access position in the virtual world, the slide request signal is transmitted to the server 10, the determination in S488 is YES, and the control in S489 is performed to slide the three-dimensional coordinates (x, y, z) in the virtual world to move the access position. Thereafter, the control returns to S36. FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining data stored in the conversation database 61. This conversation database 61 is installed in the service provider 8, and data can be written and read by the server 10.

[0197] The conversation database 60 stores user IDs and corresponding position data and conversation data in the virtual world where the conversation took place. The position data and conversation data in the virtual world change according to the time axis w, and the position data and conversation data in the virtual world at each time are stored in the conversation database 61 according to the change of the time axis w. That is, the conversation database 61 stores conversation data in the form of four-dimensional coordinate data, similar to the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a shown in FIG. 14. However, since each user enters the virtual world, which is a four-dimensional space-time, and talks while moving between locations and between entry times (eras), w, x, y, z change with the movement, and the four-dimensional coordinates (w, x, y, z) where the conversation took place also change differently for each user. Such change data is stored as four-dimensional coordinate data in association with each user ID. That is, since each user has a different entry location, entry time (era), and movement mode, the time axis w is also set for each user (each user ID). That is, the time axes w are set in the number of users (user IDs).

[0198] Fig. 33 is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the authentication terminal process shown in S303 and the authentication process shown in S313 in Fig. 15. As the authentication terminal process, a determination is made in S800 as to whether or not an authentication request operation has been made. If the user operates the mobile phone 2 to make an authentication request, a YES determination is made in S800 and control proceeds to S801, where a determination is made as to whether or not the operation is a request for SSL (Secure Socket Layer) authentication. In the case of a normal SSL authentication request, a normal SSL authentication request process is executed in S802, and in response to this, the server 10 executes a normal SSL authentication process in S805.

[0199] On the other hand, if the user operates the mobile phone 2 to request a four-dimensional coordinate authentication, a NO determination is made in S801, control proceeds to S803, and a four-dimensional coordinate authentication request process is executed. In response to this, the server 10 executes a four-dimensional coordinate authentication process in S806.

[0200] 34 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the four-dimensional coordinate request process shown in S803. In S803, an authentication menu is displayed on the user's mobile phone 2. The menu items displayed by this authentication menu display are "contract authentication item," "four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate item," and "other authentication items." When the user purchases a product or the like and makes some kind of contract such as installment payment, the user selects "contract authentication item." When the user wants to be issued an electronic certificate to prove that he or she was at a certain place (on a certain four-dimensional coordinate) at a certain time, the user selects "four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate item."

[0201] When the user operates the mobile phone 2 to select the contract authentication item, control proceeds to S835, where contract authentication request processing is executed. When the user operates the mobile phone 2 to select the four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate item, control proceeds to S836, where four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance request processing is executed. When the user operates the mobile phone 2 to select another item, control proceeds to S834, where another authentication request processing is executed.

[0202] The four-dimensional coordinate authentication process on the server 10 side shown in S806 described above also includes subroutine programs for the contract authentication process corresponding to S835 and the four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance process corresponding to S836.

[0203] 35 is a flowchart showing the contract authentication request process shown in S835 and the corresponding subroutine program of the contract authentication process on the server 10 side. In the contract authentication request process, the mobile phones 2 of both the contracting parties, i.e., debtor A and creditor B, jointly request the server 10 to generate a contract shared virtual tag, and the contract shared virtual tag is generated by the contract authentication process in the server 10. Note that if debtor A purchases digital content such as paid video content, DRM (Digital Rights Management) processing is also executed.

[0204] First, in S860, debtor A's mobile phone 2 reads out the ID for the shared virtual tag from EEPROM 42. Next, in S861, a process is performed to generate an ID for the variable shared virtual tag using GPS time information. This process is the same as the process described based on S2 in Fig. 7, and a repeated description will be omitted here. Next, in S862, a process is performed to transmit the ID for the variable shared virtual tag to debtor B's mobile phone 2 using infrared communication or the like.

[0205] In the mobile phone 2 of the creditor B, a determination is made in S863 as to whether or not to access the server 10. If the debtor B operates the mobile phone 2 to input an operation to access the server 10, a YES determination is made in S863, and a process of transmitting personal authentication data including the debtor B's user ID (the user ID stored in the EEPROM 42) to the server 10 is performed in S864. The server 10 receiving the data performs personal authentication in S869, and returns access permission to the mobile phone 2 of the debtor B in S870. The processes in S864 to S870 are the same as the processes in S5 to S7 in FIG. 7, and detailed explanations will not be repeated here.

[0206] Next, on debtor B's mobile phone 2, an operation to request the generation of a shared virtual tag for the contract is performed in S865, and in response to this operation, the current location data of debtor B's mobile phone 2, debtor A's variable shared virtual tag ID and contractor data are sent to the server 10 in S866, and a process is performed to request the generation of a shared virtual tag for the contract.

[0207] The server 10 that receives it performs the processes of S15, S16, S20 to S24, S16a to S16a, and S17 to S19 described based on Fig. 8. However, the "shared virtual tag" in the process of each step described based on Fig. 8 becomes a "contract shared virtual tag" in Fig. 35.

[0208] Next, processing is performed in S871 to store the contract data and payment page data displayed on the page of the contract shared virtual tag. As a result, when debtor A or creditor B operates mobile phone 2 to access the contract shared virtual tag generated in the virtual world and clicks on it, the page of the contract shared virtual tag is displayed, and on that page the contract concluded between debtor A and creditor B is displayed, along with a payment page for installment payments, etc. Debtor A can access the payment page and make payment (payment of debt) by credit card, etc., according to the payment page.

[0209] Next, as described above, in the case of buying and selling digital content, the mobile phone 2 of the creditor B performs DRM request processing in S868, and the server 10 that receives the request executes DRM processing in S872. These processes will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0210] As a result of the DRM processing described below, the server 10 returns the encrypted digital content to creditor B's mobile phone 2, and creditor B's mobile phone 2 receives it and performs a process of transmitting the encrypted digital content to debtor A's mobile phone 2 at S873.

[0211] FIG. 36 is a flow chart showing subroutine programs of the DRM request process shown in S868 and the DRM process shown in S872. In the DRM process, first, a process of transmitting digital content to the server 10 is performed in S820. The server 10 receives the digital content in S823. In addition, in the mobile phone 2 of the creditor B, data for designating the digital content purchaser (debtor A) is transmitted to the server 10 in S821. This designation data of the digital content purchaser is, for example, the variable shared virtual tag ID of the mobile phone 2 of the debtor A. In the server 10 that has received it, a process of randomly determining the four-dimensional coordinate data to be used for DRM from the four-dimensional coordinate data of the designated purchaser (see FIG. 14) using the random number R1 is performed in S824. As a specific example of the process in S824, for example, appropriate four-dimensional coordinate data of the designated purchaser, i.e., the mobile phone 2 of the debtor A, during movement is extracted from the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a. This extracted data is data in which the coordinate data of x, y, and z change according to the change in time w. This is because the purchaser (Debtor A) is on the move. Within the range in which the time w in the extracted data from the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a changes, the server 10 generates a random number R1. Then, the coordinates (w, x, y, z; w=R1) obtained by substituting the random number R1 for the time w in the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a are determined as the four-dimensional coordinate data to be used for DRM.

[0212] Then, in S825, the determined four-dimensional coordinate data is used as key K1 to encrypt the digital content. Next, in S826, the random number R1 is embedded in the encrypted digital content as a digital watermark. Next, in S827, the encrypted digital content is returned to creditor B's mobile phone 2. In creditor B's mobile phone 2, the encrypted digital content is received in S822.

[0213] 37 is a flowchart showing the specific control of the content playback process on the mobile phone 2 side and the playback authentication process on the server 10 side, which are used when playing back the digital content purchased by debtor A, i.e., the encrypted digital content transmitted in accordance with S873. First, in the mobile phone 2, a determination is made in S880 as to whether or not a playback operation has been performed. If the purchaser (debtor A) operates the mobile phone 2 to play back the content, a YES determination is made in S880, and a process is performed in S881 to extract a random number R1 from the encrypted content. This is a process to extract the random number R1 embedded in the encrypted content as a digital watermark. Then, a process is performed in S882 to transmit the user ID and the extracted random number R1 to the server 10.

[0214] The server 10 receives it (S890), and in S891, performs a process of determining, using R1, the four-dimensional coordinate data to be used for the key K1 from the four-dimensional coordinate data of the received user ID (see FIG. 14). Specifically, the four-dimensional coordinate data of the user consisting of the current position data corresponding to the received user ID and the time w data is identified, and the four-dimensional coordinate data of the user (w, x, y, z; where w=R1) is determined by substituting the random number R1 for the time w.

[0215] Next, in S892, a process is performed in which the four-dimensional coordinate data to be used for DRM is randomly determined from the four-dimensional coordinate data of the user ID using the random number R2. The process of S892 is the same as the process of S824 described above, and detailed explanations will not be repeated here. Next, in S893, the determined four-dimensional coordinate data is set as the key K2, and the key K2, the key K1 determined in S891, and the random number R2 are transmitted to the mobile phone 2.

[0216] The mobile phone 2 receives it (S883), and performs a process of decrypting and playing the encrypted content using the received key K1. Next, in S885, the played content is encrypted using key K2, and in S886, a process of embedding random number R2 as a digital watermark in the encrypted content is performed. The mobile phone 2 then overwrites and saves the new encrypted content with random number R2 embedded. As a result, the old encrypted content with R1 embedded is erased, and the new encrypted content with R2 embedded is stored. In this way, every time the encrypted content is played, the keys and random numbers are updated, key K2 → key K3 → key K4..., R2 → R3 → R4..., and the new encrypted content with the new random number embedded is overwritten and saved.

[0217] Fig. 38 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance request process shown by S836 in Fig. 34 and the corresponding four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance process in the server 10. First, in the mobile phone 2, personal authentication data including a user ID is transmitted in S840, and the server 10 receiving the data performs personal authentication in S841 and returns access permission to the mobile phone 2 in S842. The processes of S840 to S842 are similar to the processes of S5 to S7 shown in Fig. 7, and therefore detailed explanations will not be repeated here.

[0218] In the mobile phone 2 that has been granted access, in S843, a designation operation of the four-dimensional coordinates to be certified (designation of time w, designation of latitude x and longitude y, etc.) is accepted. Next, in S844, the designated four-dimensional coordinates and a four-dimensional coordinate electronic certificate issuance request are transmitted to the server 10. In the server 10 that has received the request, in S845, it is determined whether or not the person exists at the designated four-dimensional coordinates, and if it is determined that the person does not exist, a process of returning a certification refusal due to non-existence to the mobile phone 2 is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the person exists in S846, a process of attaching a digital signature to the four-dimensional coordinate data of the person determined to exist and creating an electronic certificate is performed in S847. This digital signature is a digital signature by the service provider 8 in which the server 10 is installed, and specifically, the four-dimensional coordinate data and a message such as "certainly exists in the user four-dimensional coordinate database" are decrypted using the private key of the service provider 8, and the decrypted data is used as the digital signature. Then, in S848, the electronic certificate is transmitted to the mobile phone 2.

[0219] The mobile phone 2 stores the transmitted electronic certificate in the EEPROM 42 or the like. When it is necessary to prove that the person exists at the four-dimensional coordinates certified by the electronic certificate, the stored electronic certificate is read from the EEPROM 42 and presented. For example, it can be used in a manner that proves that one attended a certain university class to obtain credits, or when one encounters an incident in the real world, one writes a blog about the incident and presents the electronic certificate to the blog to prove that one was at the place where the incident occurred at the time it occurred.

[0220] 33 to 38 described above, in order to perform not only terminal authentication but also user identity authentication, it is first necessary to perform identity authentication between the mobile phone 2 and the user who owns it. For example, identity authentication may be performed by inputting a password or PIN into the mobile phone 2, or biometric authentication may be performed by having the mobile phone 2 read the user's fingerprint or the like.

[0221] In addition, the access control to the contract shared virtual tag may be the same as the access control to the shared virtual tag described in the first embodiment, but the following control may be used. First, data (w, x, y, z) consisting of the place (= the place where the contract shared virtual tag is generated) and time when the debtor A and the creditor B made the contract is stored in the server 10. Next, the user who clicked on the contract shared virtual tag and performed the access operation is asked to transmit the user ID from the mobile phone 2 to the server 10, and the server 10 searches the user four-dimensional database 11a to find the four-dimensional coordinate data of the user stored in association with the user ID, and determines whether the user was at the place and time (w, x, y, z) when the contract was made, and allows access on the condition that the user was there.

[0222] The control related to authentication in Fig. 33 to Fig. 38 has an advantage that authentication can be performed while keeping the user's personal identification information such as the user's address, name, or email address secret, and that specific authentication can be performed while protecting the user's privacy. Anonymous authentication and attribute authentication have been known as authentication technologies with such advantages, but they have a disadvantage that they cannot be realized without making full use of advanced encryption technologies such as group signature. However, the authentication technologies shown in Fig. 33 to Fig. 38 have an advantage that they do not require the use of advanced encryption technologies and can achieve the same effect as anonymous authentication or attribute authentication in a simple manner.

[0223] Figure 39(a) shows a subroutine program for the virtual world advertising terminal processing shown in S304 of Figure 15(a), and Figure 39(b) is a flowchart showing the subroutine program for the virtual world advertising compatible processing shown in S314 of Figure 15(b).

[0224] In the virtual world advertisement terminal process, advertisement display terminal process is performed in S500. This advertisement display terminal process is a process for displaying advertisement displays prepared in the virtual world on the mobile phone 2.

[0225] On the other hand, in the virtual world advertisement handling process, a display advertisement setting handling process is performed in S503, and an advertisement display handling process is executed in S504. The display advertisement setting handling process in S503 is a process for accepting a setting operation of an advertisement to be displayed in the virtual world by an advertiser client described later, and setting and storing the advertisement that the advertiser wants to display in the virtual world. The advertisement display handling process in S504 is a process on the server side 10 corresponding to the advertisement display terminal process in S500, and is a process for transmitting an advertisement prepared in the virtual world to the mobile phone 2 for display.

[0226] FIG. 39(c) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the display advertisement setting operation processing executed by the advertiser client, and FIG. 39(d) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the display advertisement setting corresponding processing shown in S503.

[0227] When the advertiser client performs a login operation to the advertisement menu in S510, control is performed in S511 to transmit the authentication data of the advertiser client to the server 10. The server 10 receives it in S515, and confirms the identity of the advertiser client based on the authentication data in S516 to determine whether the advertiser client is a proper and legitimate advertiser client and is not an impersonator, and if so, controls to transmit the advertisement menu data to the advertiser client. The advertiser client receives it in S512, and performs an advertisement menu selection input process in S513. The data transmitted by this advertisement menu selection input process is received by the server 10, and an input menu registration process is executed in S517.

[0228] Figures 40(a), 41 and 42 are flow charts showing a subroutine program of the advertisement menu selection input process shown in S513, and Figure 40(b) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the input menu registration process shown in S517. Eight types of input menus are provided: advertisement display method menu (S520), display distance menu (S523), display time menu (S526), ​​advertisement type menu (S535), virtual world display category menu (S538), virtual world display category menu for users (S541), menu display when mutual functions are available (S546), and display area selection menu (S549).

[0229] First, at S520, a menu regarding the method of displaying the advertisement is displayed to the advertiser client. There are three types of display methods: constant display type, pop-up type, and selection type advertisement. These three types of menu items are displayed. The constant display type is an advertisement that is always displayed regardless of whether the advertisement has been updated or not. The pop-up type is an advertisement that, when an advertisement has been updated, a pop-up is displayed to that effect, and the newly updated advertisement is displayed. The selection type advertisement is an advertisement that matches the user or an advertisement selected by the user from among multiple types of advertisements.

[0230] A determination is made in S521 as to whether or not a menu item has been selected, and if not, the display process of S520 is performed. If the user performs a selection operation on the mobile phone 2, a YES determination is made in S521, control proceeds to S522, and the selected menu item is transmitted to the server 10. The server 10 receives the menu item in S530, and registers the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63 (see FIG. 43). Next, a determination is made in S532 as to whether or not registration of all the advertisement menu items has been completed, and if not, the process returns to S530, and the process goes through a loop of S530→S531→S532→S530.

[0231] Meanwhile, in the advertiser client, control is performed in S523 to display a menu item of the display distance of the advertisement to the user who has entered the virtual world. Specifically, three types of display distance menu are prepared: long distance, medium distance, and close distance. The advertiser client determines in S524 whether or not the display distance menu item has been selected, and if not, the display process of S523 continues. When a selection operation has been performed, control proceeds to S525, where the selected menu item is transmitted to the server 10. The server 10 receives the data in S530, and controls to register the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63 in S531.

[0232] Next, the advertiser client performs control in S526 to display a menu item for display time. Specifically, items of constant display and time-limited display are displayed. Constant display is an advertisement that is displayed 24 hours a day, while time-limited display is an advertisement that is displayed for a limited period of time such as only during the day or only at night. A determination is made in S527 as to whether or not a selection operation has been performed, and the display process in S526 continues until such an operation is performed. If a selection operation has been performed by the advertiser client, the selected item is transmitted to the server 10 in S528. The server 10 receives this in S530, and controls to register the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63.

[0233] The advertiser client further controls the display of an advertisement type menu in S535. Three types of advertisements are available: advertisements using only audio, advertisements using only video and images, and advertisements using audio, video, and images. A determination is made in S536 as to whether or not a selection has been made, and if no selection has been made, the display control in S535 continues. If a selection has been made by the advertiser client, a process is performed in S537 to transmit the selected menu item to the server 10. The server 10 receives the selection in S530, and controls the registration of the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63 in S532.

[0234] The advertiser client further displays a menu indicating the display category of advertisements in the virtual world in S538. Specifically, there are three types of advertisement display categories: advertisements displayed only in the present world, advertisements displayed only in the past world, and advertisements displayed in all eras including the future. If it is not determined in S539 whether or not a menu item has been selected, the display in S538 continues. If a selection has been made by the advertiser client, a process is performed in S540 to transmit the selected item to the server 10. The server 10 receives the data in S530, and registers the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63 in S531.

[0235] The advertiser client then displays a menu in S541, indicating the display category for users in the virtual world. Specifically, four types of display categories for users are displayed: advertisements displayed to all users, advertisements displayed only to limited users, advertisements displayed only to terminal users, and advertisements displayed only to Web users. A limited user may be, for example, a user who has registered as a paid member. A determination is made in S542 as to whether or not a selection operation has been performed, and if not, the display control of S541 continues. If a selection operation has been performed by the advertiser client, control is performed in S543 to transmit the selected menu item to the server 10. The server 10 receives this in S530, and processes the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63 in S531.

[0236] The advertiser client further displays a menu in S546 if the advertisement has an interactive function. Specifically, three types are available: an inquiry function type, a word-of-mouth function type, and a street sales function type. The inquiry function type is an advertisement that allows the user to ask the advertiser questions. The word-of-mouth function type is an advertisement that allows the user to view reviews that have already been written about the advertised product, etc., and to write new reviews. The street sales function type is an advertisement that allows the advertiser to display a store at the user's entrance position in the virtual world and sell the product there if the user who has seen the advertisement wants to purchase the advertised product.

[0237] A determination is made in S547 as to whether or not a selection has been made, and if not, the display control in S546 continues. If a selection has been made by the advertiser client, a process is performed in S548 to transmit the selected item to the server 10. The server 10 receives the selection in S530, and a process is performed in S531 to register the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63.

[0238] In the advertiser client, a selection menu for the region in which the advertisement is to be displayed is further displayed in S549. Specifically, three types of display are available: worldwide display, nationwide display, and limited-region display. In S550, it is determined whether a selection operation has been performed, and when a selection operation has been performed, in S551, control is performed to select the name of the country to be displayed in the case of selection 2, i.e., nationwide display, and to select and input the region to be displayed in the case of selection 3, i.e., limited-region display. In the case of an advertisement in limited-region display, for example, an advertisement specific to the region in which the advertisement is displayed is displayed. For example, in the case of an advertisement display limited to Nishijin in Kyoto, an advertisement for Nishijin-ori shops is displayed. In addition, in the case of an advertisement limited to the location of a certain store in the virtual world, the advertisement is made for the products and services of the store.

[0239] Next, a determination is made in S550 as to whether or not a selection operation has been performed, and if a selection operation has been performed, a control is performed in S551 to select the name of the country to be displayed in the case of selection 2, i.e., nationwide display, or to select and input the region to be displayed in the case of selection 3, i.e., region-limited display. Next, a control is performed in S552 to transmit the selected item to server 10. Server 10 receives it in S530, and a control is performed in S531 to register the received data in virtual world advertising database 63.

[0240] Next, in the advertiser client, in S553, it is determined whether or not an input operation of advertisement contents and comment information has been performed. The advertisement contents are, for example, as shown in FIG. 43, a display showing advertisement contents such as XX Glasses Store, XX Product Store, etc., and the comment information is a message such as "Sales are being conducted, business hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., we do all kinds of installation work, please feel free to contact us." If an input operation of advertisement contents and comment information has been performed, control proceeds to S554, and the input information is transmitted to the server 10. The server 10 receives it in S530, and registers the received data in the virtual world advertisement database 63 in S531.

[0241] Figure 43 is a diagram showing information stored in virtual world advertising database 63 connected to server 10. As explained in S520 to S553, virtual world advertising database 63 stores various types of information, but Figure 43 shows only representative information.

[0242] FIG. 44(a) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the advertisement display terminal processing shown in S500, and FIG. 44(b) is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the advertisement display corresponding processing shown in S504. As the advertisement display terminal processing, in S558, it is judged whether or not the user is currently logged in to the virtual world by the mobile phone 2, and if the user is not currently logged in, this subroutine program is terminated. If the user is currently logged in, in S570, the server 10 performs control to display an advertisement to be shown to the logged-in user. Specifically, the server 10 searches the virtual world advertisement database 63 and selects an advertisement to be displayed to the user from among the advertisements stored in the virtual world advertisement database 63. Next, in S571, a signal is transmitted to overlay the selected advertisement on the virtual world and display it on the mobile phone 2 of the user. In the mobile phone 2, it receives the advertisement in S559, and in S560, it performs control to overlay and display the received advertisement. Next, in S561, it is judged whether or not the user has performed an operation to gaze at the advertisement. This is, for example, an operation to display the advertisement in the center of the screen and zoom map the advertisement. When an operation of gazing at an advertisement is performed, control is performed in S562 to notify the server 10 of the advertisement that was gazed upon. The server 10 receives this in S572, and controls in S573 to search the virtual world advertisement database 63 to find detailed information about the notified advertisement, such as the advertisement content and comment information, and to transmit this information to the mobile phone 2. The mobile phone 2 receives this in S563, and displays the received detailed information as an overlay in S564.

[0243] Next, in S565, it is determined whether or not a selection operation corresponding to the type of advertisement has been performed. If an operation has been performed, control proceeds to S577, where it is determined whether or not a click operation has been performed on a link in the advertisement. Usually, an advertisement has a URL embedded as a hyperlink that specifies the contact information for the advertiser. If the URL of the link is clicked, in S578, the user is taken to the homepage of the advertiser.

[0244] On the other hand, if the click is not to a link destination of an advertisement, a determination is made in S579 as to whether or not the word-of-mouth function is selected. In the case of an advertisement with a word-of-mouth function as explained in S546, an operation for selecting the word-of-mouth function is possible. When the user clicks on the display portion of the word-of-mouth function, a YES determination is made in S579, and a notification that word-of-mouth selection has been made is sent to the server 10 in S580. The server 10 receives this in S594, and sends the posted word-of-mouth information to the mobile phone 2 in S595.

[0245] The mobile phone 2 receives this in S581, and in S582 controls to display the received written reception information. Next, in S583 it is determined whether or not a review writing operation has been performed, and if the user performs an operation to write a review on the mobile phone 2, the written information is transmitted in S584 to the server 10. The server 10 receives this in S586, and in S597 processes the information in the virtual world advertising database 63 as written review information.

[0246] In the mobile phone 2, if it is determined in S579 that the word-of-mouth function has not been selected, it is determined in S585 whether or not an inquiry operation has been performed. If not, the process proceeds to S602, but if an inquiry operation has been performed, a process of transmitting the inquiry signal to the server 10 is performed in S586. The server 10 receives it in S598, and a process of transmitting the inquiry section to the mobile phone 2 is performed in S599.

[0247] The mobile phone 2 receives the inquiry field in S587, displays the received inquiry field in S588, and accepts operations to write an inquiry about the advertisement in the inquiry field and click on the advertiser's URL embedded in the inquiry field in S589. Next, in S590, the user is moved to the advertiser's page and the written inquiry is notified to the advertiser. Then, the mobile phone 2 waits for a response from the advertiser, and when the response from the advertiser is received, the received response from the advertiser is displayed.

[0248] If it is determined in S585 that the operation is not an inquiry operation, the only remaining option among the selections in the type of advertisement (see S565) is the street sales function (see S546). Therefore, in S602, the mobile phone 2 transmits a street sales request to the server 10. The server 10 receives it in S609, and transmits a signal to display a street sales store to the mobile phone 2 in S610. The mobile phone 2 receives it in S603, and controls to display the street sales store by overlaying it on the virtual world in S604. Meanwhile, the server 10 transmits a display control signal for the street sales store to the mobile phone 2, and then transmits a request for street sales to the advertiser server in S611. The advertiser server receives it in S616, and performs customer service processing at the store in S617. The customer service processing signal is relayed in S612 and transmitted to the mobile phone 2, and the mobile phone 2 can perform an operation to communicate with the store clerk in S605. This mobile phone 2 relays signals between the store clerk and the advertiser's server in S617 for customer service processing via S612.

[0249] Next, when a product purchase operation is performed using the mobile phone 2 (S606), the purchase operation signal is relayed at S613 and transmitted to the advertiser's server, which then carries out settlement processing at S618.

[0250] Figure 47(a) is a flowchart showing the subroutine program of the marketing terminal processing shown in S305 of Figure 15(a), and Figure 47(b) is a flowchart showing the subroutine program of the marketing response processing shown in S315 of Figure 15(b).

[0251] As the marketing terminal processing, a questionnaire terminal processing is executed in S900, and a payment operation processing is executed in S901. The questionnaire terminal processing is a processing in which a user answers a questionnaire, and the payment operation processing is a processing in which a user performs a payment operation for a purchased product or the like using the mobile phone 2.

[0252] As the marketing response process, a virtual world store opening acceptance process is executed in S905, a payment data collection process is executed in S906, and a marketing data provision process is executed in S907. The virtual world store opening acceptance process is a process for accepting a request from a store owner to open a store in the virtual world through the store owner's client. The payment data collection process is a process for a payment organization to collect payment data when a user purchases a product or the like in the virtual world, and for the payment organization to transmit the collected payment data to server 10, where it is collected and stored. The marketing data provision process is a process for providing the collected marketing data to store owners, etc.

[0253] FIG. 47(c) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program showing the shop opening request processing by a shop opening client (not shown), and FIG. 47(d) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the virtual world shop opening reception processing shown in S905. In the shop opening client, a shop opening request is transmitted to the server 10 in S910. In the server 10, the shop opening request is received in S917, and a process of transmitting a shop opening application page to the shop opening client in S918 is performed. In the shop opening client, the shop opening request is received in S911, and a process of filling in the received shop opening application page with the address, shop opening client name, shop opening location, and whether or not there is a questionnaire, and returning the page to the server 10 in S912 is performed. In the server 10, the shop opening request is received in S919, and a determination is made in S920 as to whether or not there is a questionnaire. This determination is made based on whether or not "questionnaire available" is written in the data received in S919. If it is determined that there is a questionnaire, a control is performed in S921 to transmit a questionnaire page to the shop opening client. The shop owner client receives the questionnaire in S913, and in S914 controls to fill in the questionnaire questions on the received questionnaire page and return it to the server 10. The server 10 receives the questionnaire in S922, and in S923 performs shop opening processing based on the received content.

[0254] Fig. 48(a) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the questionnaire terminal processing shown in S900, and Fig. 48(b) is a flow chart showing a subroutine program of the shop opening processing based on the received contents shown in S923. In the server 10, a process of registering the received contents in the marketing database 64 (see Fig. 50) is performed in S934. The received contents are the contents received in S919 and the contents received in S922.

[0255] 50, the marketing database 64 is connected to the server 10, and stores a user ID, a user gender, four-dimensional coordinate data, questionnaire information, payment information, etc. Corresponding to the user ID, the user gender, which is the gender of the user, four-dimensional coordinate data consisting of latitude x, longitude y, altitude (above sea level) z, and era (time) w of entry in the virtual world when the user entered the virtual world using the mobile phone 2, questionnaire information in which the user answers a questionnaire, and payment information are stored.

[0256] When each user enters the virtual world, which is a four-dimensional space-time, and moves between locations and between entry times (eras), w, x, y, and z change along with the movement. Such change data is stored as four-dimensional coordinate data in association with each user ID. In other words, since each user has a different entry location, entry time (era), and movement mode, the time axis w is also set for each user (each user ID). In other words, the same number of time axes w are set as the number of users (user IDs).

[0257] The payment information includes the payment number, payment type, product, amount, store information, etc. The payment type stored is the type of payment used by the user, such as credit card payment or cash payment (using a point card). The product stored is the general name of the product purchased by the user, such as a book, polo shirt, computer, DVD, etc. Note that "product" is a broad concept that includes services and other kinds of obligations. The amount stored is the purchase price of the product. The store information stored is the name of the store where the product was purchased.

[0258] Next, the server performs control in S935 to overlay the virtual store at a corresponding position in the virtual world and display it on the mobile phone 2. Next, in S936, control is performed to overlay a survey virtual tag corresponding to the survey, if there is a survey, and display it on the mobile phone 2. In the mobile phone 2, it is determined in S928 whether the survey virtual tag has been clicked, and if so, a process is performed in S929 to transmit a click signal of the survey virtual tag to the server 10. In the server 10, it is received in S937, and a process is performed in S938 to transmit a survey page corresponding to the clicked survey virtual tag to the mobile phone 2.

[0259] The mobile phone 2 receives the questionnaire in S930, and controls to display the received questionnaire page in S931. Next, in S932, a process is performed to accept an operation by the user to answer the displayed questionnaire, and in S933, a process is performed to transmit the answer data to the server 10.

[0260] The server 10 receives the questionnaire response data in step S939, and registers the received questionnaire response data in the marketing database 64 as questionnaire information in step S940.

[0261] FIG. 49(a) is a flowchart of the payment data providing process executed by the shop owner client, and FIG. 49(b) is a flowchart of the subroutine program of the payment data collecting process shown in S906. The shop owner client judges whether the payment data has been updated in S945. When the user who has entered the virtual world operates the mobile phone 2 to purchase a product or the like and performs payment processing, the payment data is transmitted to the shop owner, and the shop owner performs update processing of the payment data. Then, YES is judged in S945, and data for performing identity authentication of the shop owner client is transmitted to the server 10 in S946, and processing for accessing the server 10 is performed. The server 10 receives it in S950, verifies the identity of the shop owner client, and returns access permission to the shop owner client in S951. The shop owner client receives it in S947, and controls to transmit the updated payment data to the server 10 in S948. The server 10 receives it in S952, and in S953 performs a process of updating the payment information (payment data) in the marketing database 64 based on the received data.

[0262] Fig. 51(a) is a flow chart of the marketing data acquisition process executed by the shop owner client, and Fig. 51(b) is a flow chart showing the subroutine program of the marketing data provision process shown in S907. First, in the shop owner client, a determination is made in S957 as to whether or not a marketing data acquisition operation has been performed. If an operator in the shop owner client performs a marketing data acquisition operation, a YES determination is made in S957, and control is performed in S958 to transmit a request for marketing data together with data for authenticating the shop owner client to the server 10. The server 10 receives this in S968, and controls in S969 to transmit a marketing menu to the shop owner client after authenticating the client's identity.

[0263] The shop owner client receives the marketing menu in S959, and in S960 controls the display of the received marketing menu. The marketing menu display screen in S960 is shown in FIG. 52. The marketing menu consists of four menu items: the user's four-dimensional coordinate data, the user's personal information, payment information, and survey information. The user selects and clicks on the desired one from these four menu items. The selected menu item is then transmitted to the server 10 in S961.

[0264] The server 10 receives the request in step S970, extracts marketing data corresponding to the selected menu item from the marketing database 64 in step S971, and transmits the extracted data to the shop owner client in step S972.

[0265] The shop owner client receives the data in S962, stores the received data in S963, and determines whether or not the operator has operated to display the marketing data in S964. If the operator has operated to display the marketing data, control is performed to display the stored marketing data in S965.

[0266] [Modification of the second embodiment] Next, modifications of the second embodiment will be listed.

[0267] (1) The server 10 may be configured with multiple dedicated servers according to various control contents. For example, a server dedicated to the current virtual world corresponding process (S310), a server dedicated to the past virtual world corresponding process (S311), a server dedicated to the future virtual world corresponding process (S312), a server dedicated to the authentication process (S313), a server dedicated to the virtual world advertising corresponding process (S314), a server dedicated to the marketing corresponding process (S315), etc. This is also a modified example of the first embodiment described above.

[0268] (2) It may be possible to make it possible to search within the virtual world (within the four-dimensional space-time). The search targets include conversations within the virtual world (within the four-dimensional space-time), community virtual tags and their associated posting pages, cyber special zones, each area of ​​the historical virtual world (see S231), shared virtual tags and their associated posting pages, etc. However, in the case of virtual spaces with access restrictions (for example, shared virtual tags and their associated posting pages, community virtual tags and their associated posting pages, etc.), the search results are displayed only to users who are permitted to access (only on the user's mobile phone 2).

[0269] (3) The method of accessing shared virtual tags described based on Figure 5 is not limited to shared virtual tags, but may also be applied to other tags, such as history tags, community virtual tags, contract shared virtual tags, business shared virtual tags, etc.

[0270] The above-described embodiments disclose the following inventions. The conventional general contactable state described in Japanese Patent No. 4256374 has the following drawbacks. People often feel uneasy and hesitant about giving out personal information such as phone numbers or email addresses to people they meet for the first time, which can result in missing opportunities for future communication. b There is a risk that the person to whom you have provided your personal information may contact you at any time of the day or night, causing you inconvenience. c) There is a risk that personal information such as your email address that you provide to the other party may be leaked to others, who may then impersonate you and send you emails, or you may become the victim of spam. d. Once personal information has been provided, invalidating it requires cumbersome procedures such as changing a phone number or email address. In light of the above, an ideal contactable state is one in which contact can be made at a later date without the other party having to disclose each other's personal information, and which also prevents the inconvenience of someone other than the other party contacting the other party by impersonating that person.

[0271] On the other hand, in the real world, meeting people or attending events or concerts is limited to a certain narrow range due to physical restrictions on the range of human movement. Also, people have limited free time, and it is impossible to travel to a remote place within such a limited time.

[0272] For example, an amateur photographer with an interest in astronomy may succeed in photographing a total solar eclipse in Japan and establish contact with many people who share the same hobby, but may find that he or she is unable to travel to the next total solar eclipse that occurs overseas.

[0273] Ideally, people would be freed from the physical and time constraints of their range of movement and be able to contact people wherever they want to go at any time.

[0274] As a way to overcome the physical and time constraints on range of movement, the inventor came up with a new idea of ​​utilizing the property that allows instantaneous teleportation to anywhere, anytime within a virtual world such as Street View.

[0275] One possible way to achieve this is shown below. First, create a 3D virtual world on the Internet that is an exact copy of the real world, or prepare an existing one such as Street View as the virtual world. ii Next, the positions of people's mobile phones in the real world are measured using GPS or other devices, and avatars of those people are displayed in positions in the virtual world that correspond to those measured positions. It is preferable that these avatars have agent functions. iii Next, when another person enters the virtual world and encounters the aforementioned avatar, they can converse with that avatar (agent), enabling a conversation between the real-world person and the person who has entered the virtual world through that avatar.

[0276] In this way, an avatar that corresponds to the real-world person acts as a conduit between the virtual and real worlds, enabling interaction that transcends the boundaries between the two. Naturally, since you can teleport freely between locations in the virtual world, users can teleport to any location they wish and make contact with people there.

[0277] In the example of the total solar eclipse mentioned above, when a total solar eclipse occurs in a foreign country, you can access that location from the virtual world, talk to the avatar displayed at that location in the virtual world, contact the person corresponding to the avatar, and establish a state of contact, and later exchange videos of your own total solar eclipse in Japan with the other person's video of the total solar eclipse in the foreign country.

[0278] However, even in new interactions that transcend the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds, problems similar to those mentioned above (a) to (d) arise when establishing a state of communication.

[0279] The invention disclosed in the embodiments has been devised in consideration of this situation, and its purpose is to provide an access control system and an access control method that can provide a means for creating the ideal contactable state described above.

[0280] The invention disclosed in the embodiment is an access control system used when specific people (for example, users who meet in the real world, users who meet in the virtual world, people who meet between a real-world user and a user who has entered the virtual world, an event organizer and an event participant) contact each other via a network by operating a user terminal (for example, a mobile phone 2) operated by the user, A confirmation means (e.g., S15, S16, S16a to S16d) for confirming that consent has been obtained to make the virtual world contactable by a person within a predetermined geographical area (e.g., within a range in the real world where infrared communication is possible with the mobile phone 2, within a communication area between the mobile phone 2 and the wireless LAN 7 that covers the event venue as a communication area, within an area where conversation can be conducted between the avatars (agents) of users who have entered the virtual world (e.g., within a 10 meter range), within the virtual event venue, or within an area where conversation can be conducted between the avatar (agent) of a user who has entered the virtual world and the avatar (agent) of the user displayed at a position in the virtual world corresponding to the current position of the user in the real world (e.g., within a 10 meter range)); an access request receiving means (for example, receiving data transmitted in S81) for receiving an access request to a contact shared page (for example, a Web page corresponding to a shared virtual tag or a business shared virtual tag) for making contact; The system is provided with an access control means (e.g., S86, S87, S91) for permitting access to a shared contact page for those who have agreed to contact each other, on condition that, when an access request is accepted by the access request accepting means, the confirmation means confirms that consent has been obtained (for example, on condition that a request for access to the shared virtual tag has been sent by S85 based on an access operation to the shared virtual tag which is generated via S15, S16, S16a to S16d and is displayed only to those who have agreed).

[0281] According to such a configuration, when contacting a person, it becomes possible to make contact at a later time without notifying the person of personal information.

[0282] Preferably, the user can enter a digitally rendered virtual space (e.g., the virtual world shown in the lower half of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2) corresponding to a landscape of the real world (e.g., the real world shown in the upper half of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2) by operating the user terminal; The confirmation means has a virtual area confirmation function (for example, S15, S16, S16a to S16d which determine whether or not avatars (agents) of users who have entered the virtual world and those in a predetermined geographical area within the virtual space (for example, within an area where avatars (agents) of users who have entered the virtual world can converse with each other (for example, within a 10 meter range), within the range of a virtual event venue, or within an area where an avatar (agent) of a user who has entered the virtual world can converse with an avatar (agent) of the user displayed at a position in the virtual world corresponding to the current position of the user in the real world (for example, within a 10 meter range)) have agreed to make contact possible between the users.

[0283] According to this configuration, when people who have entered the virtual space can contact each other, they can do so at a later time without notifying the other person of their personal information.

[0284] More preferably, the user can enter a digitally rendered virtual space corresponding to a real-world landscape by operating the user terminal; The confirmation means has a virtual-to-real confirmation function that confirms that consent has been obtained to make a contactable state between a person who has entered the virtual space and is within a specified geographical area in the virtual space, and a person who is within a specified geographical area in the real world corresponding to the specified geographical area in the virtual space (for example, S15, S16, S16a to S16d which also determine whether an avatar (agent) of a user who has entered the virtual world and an avatar (agent) of the user displayed at a position in the virtual world corresponding to the user's current position in the real world are within a conversation possible area (for example, within a 10 meter range).

[0285] According to this configuration, when a person who has entered the virtual space can contact a person in the real world, the person can later contact the other person without notifying the other person of personal information.

[0286] More preferably, the confirmation means comprises: A consent signal receiving means (for example, the server 10 receives a transmission signal transmitted by S9) for receiving a contact consent signal indicating that consent has been obtained, the contact consent signal being transmitted in accordance with the operation of the user terminal (for example, a transmission signal transmitted by S9 containing the variable shared virtual tag ID of the other consenter received by infrared communication by S3); and an area determination means (e.g., S16, S16a to S16d) for determining that the location of the user at the time of consent is within the predetermined geographical area, On condition that the area determination means determines that the location is within the specified geographical area (for example, on condition that S16d determines YES), it is confirmed that consent has been obtained from a person within the specified geographical area (for example, by determining YES in S16d, it is confirmed that consent has been obtained and the process proceeds to the shared virtual tag generation process from S17 onwards).

[0287] With this configuration, confirmation that consent has been obtained from a person within a specified geographical area is made on the condition that the location of the user who gave consent at the time of consent is determined to be within the specified geographical area, allowing for more reliable confirmation and, for example, making it possible to minimize contact through impersonation.

[0288] More preferably, the in-area determination means A location information acquisition means (e.g., S16a, S16c) for acquiring location information of the user terminal; and a determination means (e.g., S16d) for determining whether or not the user terminal is located within the predetermined geographical area based on the location information acquired by the location information acquisition means, If the judgment means judges that the user terminal is located within the specified geographical area (for example, if S16d judges that it is YES), it is judged that the location of the user terminal at the time of agreement is within the specified geographical area (for example, if S16d judges that it is YES, it is judged that the location of the user terminal at the time of agreement is within the specified geographical area, and the process proceeds to the shared virtual tag generation process from S17 onwards).

[0289] According to such a configuration, location information of the user terminal is obtained, and based on that location information it is determined whether the user terminal is located within a specified geographical area. Based on this reliable determination of whether the user terminal is located within the specified geographical area, it is possible to confirm that consent has been obtained from a person within the specified geographical area, thereby enabling more reliable confirmation and minimizing contact through impersonation, for example.

[0290] More preferably, the user terminal has a limited-range communication function (for example, infrared communication between mobile phones 2, wireless communication via a wireless LAN access point 7) that allows communication only within the range of the predetermined geographical area, The within-area determination means determines that the location of the user terminal at the time of agreement is within the specified geographical area (for example, executes processing of S10 and then executes processing of S17 and beyond) on condition that the contact agreement signal received by the agreement signal receiving means contains communication information (for example, an ID for a variable shared virtual tag) from the user terminal communicated by the limited range communication function (for example, on condition that information including an ID for a variable shared virtual tag has been transmitted by S9).

[0291] According to this configuration, provided that the communication information includes communication information from the user terminal communicated using a limited range communication function that enables communication only within a specified geographical area, it is determined that the location of the user terminal at the time of consent is within a specified geographical area, and a relatively simple and easy determination method is used to confirm that consent has been obtained from a person within the specified geographical area, thereby making it possible to minimize contact through impersonation, for example.

[0292] More preferably, an access point generating means (e.g., S17 to S19 or S17, S200, S201, S18, S19) that generates an access point (e.g., a shared virtual tag) exclusive to those who have agreed, which is accessed to contact each other by those who have agreed, within a predetermined geographical area in a digitally visualized virtual space corresponding to the scenery of the real world, on condition that the confirmation means has confirmed that consent has been obtained (for example, on condition that a request for access to the shared virtual tag has been transmitted by S85 based on an access operation to the shared virtual tag, which is generated by way of S15, S16, S16a to S16d and is displayed only to those who have agreed); and an access point display control means (e.g., S87) for controlling, when an access request is accepted by the access request acceptance means (e.g., when data is received by S81), to display, to the access requester, an access point (e.g., a shared virtual tag corresponding to the user ID transmitted by S81) generated exclusively for the person who made the access request, among the access points generated by the access point generation means, together with an image of a virtual space corresponding to the geographical location where the access point is generated, The access control means permits access to a contact shared page corresponding to an access point when the user operates the user terminal to access the access point (for example, S91).

[0293] According to this configuration, an access point generated exclusively for the person making the access request is displayed to the access requester along with an image of the virtual space corresponding to the geographical location where the access point is generated, making it possible to revive memories of the person being contacted from the image of the virtual space corresponding to that geographical location even without knowing the personal information of the person.

[0294] More preferably, the confirmation means confirms that an agreement has been reached between the event organizer and participants in the event to make the event contactable (for example, S15, S16, S16a to S16d in the business shared virtual tag generation process).

[0295] With this configuration, event organizers and participants in the event can make contact at a later date without disclosing personal information to each other, and participants can receive announcements and messages from the event organizers, while the event organizers can build a pipeline with the participants (users).

[0296] Another aspect of the present invention is an access control system used when specific people (for example, users who meet in the real world, users who meet in the virtual world, people who meet between a real-world user and a user who has entered the virtual world, an event organizer and an event participant) contact each other via a network by operating a user terminal (for example, a mobile phone 2) operated by the user, A confirmation means (e.g., S15, S16, S16a to S16d) for confirming that consent has been obtained to make the virtual world contactable by a person within a predetermined geographical area (e.g., within a range in the real world where infrared communication is possible with the mobile phone 2, within a communication area between the mobile phone 2 and the wireless LAN 7 that covers the event venue as a communication area, within an area where conversation can be conducted between the avatars (agents) of users who have entered the virtual world (e.g., within a 10 meter range), within the virtual event venue, or within an area where conversation can be conducted between the avatar (agent) of a user who has entered the virtual world and the avatar (agent) of the user displayed at a position in the virtual world corresponding to the current position of the user in the real world (e.g., within a 10 meter range)); and an access control means for permitting access on the condition that the confirmation means has confirmed that consent has been obtained (for example, S86, S87, S91, or if the other party desires a contact method other than the shared virtual tag (for example, notification of an email address or telephone number) and the proposer of the shared virtual tag generation agrees to this, the two parties exchange email addresses or telephone numbers). The confirmation means is A consent signal receiving means (for example, the server 10 receives a transmission signal transmitted by S9) for receiving a contact consent signal indicating that consent has been obtained, the contact consent signal being transmitted in accordance with the operation of the user terminal (for example, a transmission signal transmitted by S9 containing the variable shared virtual tag ID of the other consenter received by infrared communication by S3); and an area determination means (e.g., S16, S16a to S16d) for determining that the location of the user at the time of consent is within the predetermined geographical area, On condition that the area determination means determines that the location is within the specified geographical area (for example, on condition that S16d determines YES), it is confirmed that consent has been obtained from a person within the specified geographical area (for example, by determining YES in S16d, it is confirmed that consent has been obtained and the process proceeds to the shared virtual tag generation process from S17 onwards).

[0297] According to this configuration, when contacting a person, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of having to inform personal information to a person to whom one does not wish to give personal information. Furthermore, on the condition that the location of the user who gave consent is determined to be within a predetermined geographical area at the time of consent, it is confirmed that consent has been obtained from a person who is within the predetermined geographical area, so that more reliable confirmation is possible, and it is possible to prevent contact by impersonation as much as possible.

[0298] Another aspect of the present invention is an access control method used when specific persons (e.g., users who meet in the real world, users who meet in the virtual world, persons who meet between a user in the real world and a user who has entered the virtual world, an event organizer and an event participant) contact each other via a network by operating a user terminal (e.g., a mobile phone 2) operated by the user, comprising: a step (e.g., S15, S16, S16a to S16d) of confirming that consent has been obtained to make the virtual world contactable by a person within a predetermined geographical area (e.g., within a range in the real world where infrared communication is possible with the mobile phone 2, within a communication area between the mobile phone 2 and the wireless LAN 7 that covers the event venue as a communication area, within an area where conversation can be conducted between the avatars (agents) of users who have entered the virtual world (e.g., within a 10 meter range), within the virtual event venue, or within an area where conversation can be conducted between the avatar (agent) of a user who has entered the virtual world and the avatar (agent) of the user displayed at a position in the virtual world corresponding to the current position of the user in the real world (e.g., within a 10 meter range)); A step of receiving a request to access a shared contact page (e.g., a web page corresponding to a shared virtual tag) for making contact (e.g., receiving data transmitted in S81); When an access request is accepted by the access request accepting step, on condition that the consent has been confirmed by the confirming step (for example, on condition that a request for access to the shared virtual tag by S85 based on an access operation to the shared virtual tag generated via S15, S16, S16a to S16d and displayed only to those who have agreed) is transmitted, the method further includes a step (for example, S86, S87, S91) of allowing access to a shared contact page for those who have agreed to contact each other.

[0299] According to such a configuration, when contacting a person, the person can make contact at a later time without notifying the person of personal information.

[0300] Another aspect of the present invention is an access control system used when specific people (for example, users who meet in the real world, users who meet in the virtual world, people who meet between a real-world user and a user who has entered the virtual world, an event organizer and an event participant, people who encounter a certain event) contact each other via a network by operating a user terminal (for example, a mobile phone 2) operated by the user, A shared page generating means (e.g., S91, S437) for generating a contact shared page for making contact (e.g., a Web page corresponding to a shared virtual tag, a business shared virtual tag, or a community virtual tag, etc.); A location information storage means (e.g., a user database 11, a user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a) for storing location information of a user terminal; an access request receiving means (receiving data transmitted in S81 and S90, S432) for receiving an access request to the contact shared page (for example, a Web page corresponding to a shared virtual tag, a business shared virtual tag, or a community virtual tag); and an access control means (e.g., S86, S87, S91, S433 to S436) for controlling access to the contact shared page depending on whether or not the user terminal that requested the access was present at a predetermined location when the access request was accepted by the access request accepting means.

[0301] According to such a configuration, when contacting a person, the person can make contact at a later time without notifying the person of personal information.

[0302] Preferably, the shared page generating means generates a shared page regarding an event (e.g., a total solar eclipse, a tornado, a guerrilla live performance) that occurred in a predetermined time period in a predetermined geographic area (e.g., S410 to S416, S421 to S423, S437); The position information storage means stores a history of position information of the user terminal that changes over time (for example, position information x, y, z along the time axis w is stored in the user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a in accordance with S30 to S32), The access control means searches the location information stored in the location information storage means to determine whether the user terminal that requested access was present in the geographical area during the time period when an event related to the shared contacts page to be accessed occurred, and controls access to the shared contacts page in accordance with the determination result (e.g., S433 to S436).

[0303] According to such a configuration, access control to a shared page regarding an event is performed depending on whether or not a user terminal requesting access was present in the geographical area in which the event occurred during the time period in which the event occurred, so that different access restrictions can be imposed on users who encountered the event and users who did not. For example, the shared page can be made into a community area limited to users who encountered the event.

[0304] Another aspect of the present invention is a server (e.g., server 10) used when specific persons contact each other via a network, comprising: An interface unit (e.g., interface 58) for inputting and outputting signals to and from the outside; A processing unit (e.g., a CPU 50) for performing processing using data stored in a storage unit (e.g., a user database 11, a user four-dimensional coordinate database 11a), The processing unit includes: A contact shared page (for example, a Web page corresponding to a shared virtual tag, a business shared virtual tag, or a community virtual tag) for making contact is generated (for example, S91, S437), Store location information of the user terminal in the storage unit (for example, S30 to S32), When a signal requesting access to the shared contact page is input to the interface unit (receives data transmitted by S81 and S90, S432), access to the shared contact page is controlled depending on whether the user terminal that requested the access was present in a specified location (for example, S86, S87, S91, S433-S436).

[0305] According to such a configuration, when contacting a person, it becomes possible to make contact at a later time without notifying the person of personal information.

[0306] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0307] 2 Mobile phone, 6 Internet, 8 Service provider, 9 Virtual database, 10 Server, 11 User database, 22 Virtual world database.

Claims

1. A computer system that supports communication between people who wish to communicate with each other by operating terminals on a computer via a network, A contact list display control means for controlling display of a list of a plurality of contacts on the terminal; an input content display means for selecting and designating an exchange destination with which communication is desired from among the plurality of exchange destinations displayed by the exchange destination list display control means, and displaying the input content on the terminal so that the person who selected and designated the exchange destination and the other person who selected and designated the exchange destination can communicate the input content by operating the terminal to each other and send and receive messages; a position determination means for determining a position based on the position information transmitted to the computer; a location determination exchange destination addition means for performing an exchange destination addition process for adding a new exchange destination to the exchange destination list when one of the people determined by the location determination means to be within a predetermined geographical area proposes an exchange to the other person and the other person agrees to the exchange; and a means for determining whether a condition for performing the destination addition process is satisfied by a method other than the position determination, and adding the destination to the list of destinations when the condition is satisfied. The computer system allows the users to communicate with each other without disclosing personal information of their contacts by displaying the list of contacts on the terminal under control of the computer.

2. A program executed by a terminal to support communication between people who wish to communicate with each other by using a computer to communicate over a network, a location information transmitting step of transmitting location information to the computer; a display control step of controlling a display unit of the terminal; The display control step includes: a contact list display control step for displaying a list of a plurality of contacts; and an input content display step of selecting and designating an exchange destination with which communication is desired from among the displayed plurality of exchange destinations, and displaying the input content so that the selected and designated exchange destination and the person who selected and designated the exchange destination can communicate the input content with each other by operating the terminal and transmit and receive messages, The computer includes: a position determination means for determining a position based on the position information transmitted in the position information transmitting step; a location determination exchange destination addition means for performing an exchange destination addition process for adding a new exchange destination to the exchange destination list when one of the people determined by the location determination means to be within a predetermined geographical area proposes an exchange to the other person and the other person agrees to the exchange; and a means for determining whether a condition for performing the destination addition process is satisfied by a method other than the position determination, and adding the destination to the list of destinations when the condition is satisfied. The program allows the list of contacts to be displayed on the display unit based on control from the computer, thereby enabling the people who wish to communicate with each other to communicate without disclosing personal information about their contacts.

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