Importance

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Abstract

A subscriber to alias telephone number e-mail system can retrieve both their voice-mail messages and e-mail messages by accessing only their e-mail system. Specifically, when a calling party calls the subscriber of an alias e-mail system who is unavailable to take the call, and leaves a voice-mail message on a network-based voice-mail system, the voice-mail system stores the message. The network-based voice-mail system then determines, through a network-based database retrieval, whether the called party is a subscriber to an alias telephone number e-mail system. In such a system, e-mail messages are addressed with a name portion including a subscriber's telephone number. A translation server then translates the alias telephone number e-mail address to the subscriber's actual e-mail address and forwards the message to the subscriber. If the called party is determined to be a subscriber to such a system, the voice-mail system converts the stored voice-mail message into a text or a .WAV file and includes the converted message in an e-mail message addressed to the called party/subscriber's alias telephone number e-mail address for transmission over the Internet. The translation server then converts the alias telephone number e-mail address to the subscriber's actual e-mail address and forwards the e-mail message to the called party/subscriber's e-mail repository server at that actual address for later retrieval by the called party.

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First Claim