Technical Field The present invention relates broadly to communications systems and, in particular, to the use of interactive communications networks to convey electronic messages or greetings. More particularly, this invention relates to an online service for the conveyance of greetings, which incorporates a program of rewards for users thereof.

Background of The Invention Interactive communications network services are provided by different companies called network access providers, to which users are connected via network access devices. Popular networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, and public and private intranets (for which the preferred network access device is an electronic programmable digital computer), as well as ground-based wired and wireless (e. g.,"cellular") telephone networks, and satellite-based wireless communications networks (usually utilizing one or more satellites, either in geosynchronous or in low Earth orbit) and interactive ground-based wired (e. g., "cable") television networks (for all of which, at least at the present time, other types of network access devices may be appropriate). While one preferred embodiment of the invention relates to an implementation thereof on the global

hard-wired network of computers known today as the Internet, other preferred embodiments of the invention can utilize other interactive communications networks.

Nowadays, the Internet has become the most popular public interactive communications network, with major backbones and smaller networks branching from and connected to these backbones. These branches, in turn, have other, smaller networks branching away from them, leading to a distributed, hierarchical structure. The information passing between these networks and the computer systems attached to them is routed to the destination computer machines by hardware devices called routers. A detailed description of the structure of the Internet can be found in Hahn, Harley, The Internet Complete Reference, 2nd Edition, Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1996 (ISBN 007882138X).

Currently, the most popular portion of the Internet is the World Wide Web.

It allows the connected computer machines to send multimedia data across the Internet to other computer machines based on a protocol called HTTP. The most common format for that data is HTML. A service offering HTML data for download is called a web site, and software for downloading such HTML data is called a browser. The best known browsers today are Microsoft Internet Explorer, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, U. S. A., and Netscape Navigator, available from Netscape Communications Corporation of Mountain View, California, U. S. A. Most web sites are also capable of accepting and processing data uploaded from a connected computer through a browser, and many such web sites are operated by so-called content providers. Well known content providers are, for example, Yahoo ! at the URL http.: llwww. yahoo. com or Lycos athttp ://www. lycos. com or The Weather Channel at httpllwww. weather. com or ZDNet at httpllwwwzdnetcom.

Typically, such web sites provide functionality by offering HTML data for

download that comprises a user interface invocable by a web site application program, and having at least one display region that includes at least one user activatable control which, when activated by the user, uploads data and/or commands to the application program, and thereby initiates (i. e., provides an instance of, or"instantiates") a subordinate user interface comprised of additional HTML data and often containing still other user activatable controls. In this manner, one or more user-selected functions provided by the web site (e. g., a search function or a product order function) may be utilized, all in a fashion that is now well known in the art.

The use of the Internet as a medium for direct communication between users is also quite popular. Currently, the most commonly-used modality for direct communication over the Internet is electronic mail, now simply called email, whereby the sender composes a message (usually, although not always, comprised solely of text) which is then sent to the recipient's electronic"mailbox" where it is received and stored for later retrieval and review by the recipient. Most network access providers are equipped with dedicated email servers to handle the transmission and reception of email, via Internet protocols that are now well-established (e. g., SMTP for transmission, POP3 or IMAP for reception), and most provide their subscribing users with one or more email addresses and/or mailboxes for this purpose. Optionally, an email message can also be linked with, and thereby carry with it for delivery to the recipient, one or more attachments, which are typically computer files that contain data, such as text data, graphical data, audio data, video data, software executable data, or various combinations thereof, i. e., multimedia data.

Email messages have long been used as a medium for the sender to convey information, as well as to express emotions of all types, to the recipient, and recently, the transmission of online greetings over the World Wide Web, via a combination of text and HTML data, has become more and more popular,

resulting in a small, but rapidly growing, number of web sites that offer users the opportunity to create and send multimedia greetings electronically. Most of these web sites are designed around a greeting card model, wherein the user may select and/or design an HTML equivalent of a conventional paper greeting card, and may include a personalized message therein.

Structurally, these web sites usually consist of a computer machine connected to the Internet, on which server software is continuously being executed. The server software waits for requests from network users, and typically answers those requests with demanded HTML pages from the server's electronic"catalog"of text and graphics (some of which may be animated and/or accompanied by audio), from which the user may select in order to construct an electronic greeting card or"eCard."The server software usually allows the user to limit the displayed selections to a given category of eCards (e. g., birthday or anniversary or wishes, expressions of love or friendship, expressions of good wishes relating to secular or religious holidays or to other events, party invitations, etc.), and can generate one or more HTML pages that allow selection from within such categories.

After the user has selected and has personalized an eCard, the server software typically constructs a page containing the HTML data corresponding to that eCard, and then, provided that the user has supplied the email address (es) of the intended recipient (s), the software also usually generates an email message addressed to the recipient (s) which is sent either immediately or on a future date as determined by the user. Typically, the email message contains a hypertext link to the HTML page containing the eCard, along with a small amount of"boilerplate"text, such as"an electronic greeting is waiting for you at...." Upon receiving the email message, the recipient (s) need only point to and select (i. e., activate) the displayed hypertext link in order to invoke browser software that will display the eCard. Typical examples of such eCard web sites are Blue Mountain at the URL http ://www. bluemountain. com, Hallmark at the URL

http : llwww. hallmark. com and Egreetings. com at the URL http ://www. egreetings. com.

These and some othereCard web sites also generally include an electronic "catalog"of gifts (e. g., candy, flowers, etc.), through which the user may browse and then optionally select and purchase one or more of them to accompany the eCard, in which case the user is typically also provided with HTML forms to enter payment and shipping information. In addition, some eCard web sites include other features, such as access to a calendar (which in some cases can be personalized and/or supplemented with a"reminder"utility), access to an "address book"facility, the ability to print the eCards, the ability to"remember" (i. e., to maintain a list of) each individual user's"favorite"eCards and to display them on demand for subsequent usage (either as part of, or independently from, the ability to retain a web site usage"history"for each user), and access to a library of digital photographs, with the concomitant ability to attach one or more of such photographs (or perhaps one or more digital photographs supplied by the user) to an eCard. Such features are provided primarily for user convenience, but also in order to entice users to select one particular eCard web site over another.

Nevertheless, few of the existing eCard web sites feature a rewards program to attract new users to, and to encourage existing users to continue to patronize, that web site, despite the fact that web sites dedicated to various types of rewards, such as"giveaways" (e. g., contests ("games of skill") or sweepstakes ("games of chance")), and"incentives,"have existed separately on the Internet for several years. At the giveaway web sites, patrons are typically offered the opportunity to win a prize (which can either be cash, or a product or services) by registering and entering a contest or playing a game, and patronage is often boosted by offering each user multiple chances to win. Typical examples of such web sites include Free Lotto at the URL http : llwww. freelotto. com, Luckysurf. com at the URL http : llwwvv. luckysurf. com and ! won at the URL http://www.iwon. com.

Similarly, the incentive web sites typically allow users to earn"points"in return for, e. g., purchasing certain products or services, or participating in certain activities, or visiting affiliated or"partner"web sites. The points can then be redeemed for merchandise or gift certificates from a variety of sources, e. g., retail stores. Examples of such incentive web sites include Beenz at the URL http ://www beenz com, My Points at the URL http ://www mypoints. com and Qool at the URL httpllwwwqool. com.

While at least one eCard web site does currently exist (at the URL http :/llwww. sharedgreetings. com), at which users can receive rewards (by being entered into a sweepstakes and thereby becoming eligible to win a prize), at that web site the user (i. e., the sender of the eCard) is required to select in advance the prize that he or she desires to win (or perhaps would like to have the recipient of the eCard win) ; this selection process must take place at the same time that the sender is selecting and personalizing the eCard, and is providing the intended recipient's email address. While such a facility allows the user to avoid winning an unwanted prize, at the same time some users may not consider any of the prizes that are offered to be particularly desirable, and in any event, this approach eliminates a certain element of surprise or suspense.

Moreover, at this web site each sender/recipient pair is entered into a sweepstakes as a single entity, and if their entry wins a particular sweepstakes, then both the sender and recipient win the selected prize as a pair (i. e., either each one wins the same prize as the other, or they win one prize together and must"share"it) ; the sender and the recipient do not receive independent sweepstakes entries, and do not become eligible to win prizes separately. These disadvantages may cause some users not to patronize this eCard web site, and to choose a different eCard web site instead. The present invention is directed, in part, to overcoming the above-stated disadvantages, while at the same time providing users with further rewards in the form of incentives.

Another disadvantage which is inherent in all of the existing eCard web sites is that they are limited to a greeting card model and do not provide rewards for ordinary email communications or for other types of electronic communication utilizing the Internet that do not take a form which is analogous to a traditional paper greeting card. Another inherent disadvantage is that, by necessity, all of these web sites are limited to the Internet as the communications network for the transmission of online greetings. Other media for communication between users, such as wireless telephone networks, are quite popular nowadays, and no program of rewards exists to encourage the transmission of greetings via such telephone networks. The present invention is directed, in part, to overcoming these disadvantages and limitations as well.

Summary of the Invention The present invention overcomes some of the difficulties discussed above by providing methods for the delivery and/or transmission of greetings that include a rewards program in which both the sender of a greeting and the recipient of that greeting each become separately eligible for a giveaway (i. e., each is entered independently into a sweepstakes or contest or game), and in which the sender need not choose a prize ahead of time ; instead, the prize for each giveaway is predetermined, thus improving the sender's (and the recipient's) experience by not requiring any user input with respect to the prize (s) to be awarded. Thus, incentives are provided to encourage (i. e., to"incentivize") the creation of a greeting and the conveyance thereof from at least one sender to at least one recipient through an interactive communications network. Preferably, the giveaways include different types of sweepstakes (wherein the players are permitted to have one or more"entries"for each sweepstakes and the winners are chosen or determined at fixed intervals), as well as different types of"instant win"games (wherein the players are advised immediately whether a prize has been won).

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, senders and recipients of

greetings (hereinafter referred to interchangeably as"participants") convey and receive greetings via the Internet using a greeting card (or eCard) model similar to that utilized in the prior art, with the sender having the option to specify either immediate or deferred delivery of the greeting to the recipient. Participants become eligible to earn rewards as they engage in certain activities at an advanced web site. Those activities can result in immediate eligibility for a prize by triggering one of the instant win games, and/or can result in deferred eligibility for a prize or other reward by awarding"points"and/or sweepstakes entries to the participant. Participants can earn points by sending greetings, by receiving greetings, and by engaging in certain other incentive activities at the web site. Preferably, for each point earned, a participant is also awarded an equal number of entries into each one of several different sweepstakes that are conducted periodically by the operator of the web site.

The instant win games are most preferably implemented by referring the participant to a page of HTML data comprising an instant win"ticket"that displays a simple game which the participant must"play"in order to win, while the sweepstakes are most preferably implemented as hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly contests in which participants are entered one or more times, and in each of which a winner is selected from among the accumulated entries at the stated periodic interval (s).

Preferably, the other incentive activities include completion of the registration process by a participant who has not registered previously, as well as one or more of the following when completed by a registered participant : referral of non-registered users to the web site (who then become registered participants), providing answers to optional survey questions, providing answers to optional registration questions, visiting an advertiser's web site, or participating in promotional activities offered from time to time. In addition, points may constitute the prize awarded to a participant who wins an instant win game, or more preferably, may constitute one of several different prizes from among which a

participant who wins an instant win game may choose. The points earned in any of these ways can then be redeemed by a registered participant for free gifts, or for gift certificates, or for discounts on merchandise that can be purchased through the web site, or can provide additional eligibility for a giveaway (for example, the points can essentially be redeemed for an equal number of entries into one of the web site's sweepstakes).

Preferably, the redemption of points, as well as the claiming of giveaway prizes, is conditioned upon the participant being or becoming a registered participant, and the web site therefore includes a registration module as well as computer hardware and software facilities for storage in digital form of registration information about each participant, for retrieving same, for maintaining an account for each registered participant in which the accumulation of sweepstakes entries and the accumulation and redemption of points by that participant are tallied, and for displaying same. The same or other storage facilities may also be used to establish similar (but temporary) accounts for non-registered participants, pending their registration.

Preferably, in addition to enabling electronic greetings to be transmitted between individual participants (i. e., from a single sender to a single recipient), in this embodiment the invention also includes enabling participants to send or receive electronic greetings as a group, i. e., the same greeting can be transmitted simultaneously, either from a single sender to multiple recipients, or from multiple senders to a single recipient. The latter would be useful for a group of people to express the same sentiments to one individual (analogous to a traditional paper greeting card signed by many people and/or expressing sentiments"from all of us"), while the former would be useful for an individual to express the same sentiments to many people jointly, as well as for extending an invitation to a gathering to many persons.

Additional optional but preferable features that are available to each

registered participant in this embodiment include a calendar/reminder utility and an address book facility, either of which can be personalized, as well as a "favorites"facility ; all of these features require digital storage facilities, and preferably the information is stored as a part of each registered participant's account. In this embodiment, it is also contemplated that registered participants can win prizes by solving puzzles and/or answering category-specific or general knowledge questions posed at the web site, or by participating in other kinds of contests and games accessible only through the web site. Registered participants can also utilize the web site to purchase and to send one or more gifts in conjunction with an eCard, either as an electronic attachment to the eCard, or as physical merchandise to be delivered separately to the recipient.

In other preferred embodiments, the present invention also overcomes some of the other disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by extending its rewards program to participants who convey and receive electronic communications via the Internet through the use of non-eCard modalities, such as instant messaging,"voice over Internet"protocol, or even ordinary email messages. For example, preferably by utilizing a special email"channel"within the web site, a participant can send or receive a message (i. e., a greeting) via email, and enjoy the same immediate and/or deferred eligibility to win a prize as if that participant had sent or received an eCard as described hereinabove.

Similarly, a registered participant, who agrees (preferably through a special voice channel provided at the web site) to utilize a pre-selected provider of internet telephony services, can thereafter become eligible to earn rewards each time a message (i. e., a greeting) is sent or received using"voice over Internet"protocol.

In yet other preferred embodiments, the present invention also overcomes some of the other disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by extending its rewards program to participants who convey and receive electronic communications through non-Internet communications networks, such as a telephone network. For example, a registered participant who agrees (also

preferably through the special voice channel provided at the web site) to utilize a pre-selected cellular telephone network access provider, can thereafter become eligible to earn rewards each time a message (i. e., a greeting) is sent or received via cellular telephone (in otherwords, each time a cellular telephone call is placed or received by the participant), thus extending the rewards program beyond the Internet to other interactive communications networks.

The preferred embodiments of the invention described hereinabove are not mutually exclusive, and one or more of them may be implemented simultaneously and utilized conjointly.

The invention also encompasses methods for encouraging and fostering use of the web site by registered as well as non-registered participants. For example, one such method involves establishing business relationships with the hospitality industry through which hotel guests who become participants will become eligible to win certain travel-oriented prizes and rewards.

The invention also encompasses methods for encouraging the establishment of relationships between the web site operator and other businesses for marketing purposes. For example, for conventional businesses such methods include demonstrating the ability of the web site and its operator to deliver direct marketing messages and to elicit favorable responses thereto, while for online businesses, such methods include retrieving abandoned virtual "shopping carts"and thereby enabling the online businesses to attract customers who might otherwise have been lost.

Furthermore, the invention encompasses methods for encouraging registering participants to supply more demographic, psychographic and behavioral information about themselves to the web site operator than would otherwise be the case. Such methods include providing rewards commensurate with the amount of such data the participant provides, and/or by revealing to the

user statistics about the data provided by the other users (or by"celebrities") on the same subject or in the same category.

In addition to the methods described above, the invention also encompasses an interactive communications system comprising a communications network and the network access devices of at least two users of the network, at) of which are adapted to enable at least one user to create an electronic greeting and convey it to at least one other user through the network, and to enable those users to enjoy the reward system described above (i. e., by providing the receiving user (s) with eligibility to win at least one reward which was not previously identified by the sending user (s), and by providing the sending user (s) with separate eligibility to win at least one reward which was not previously identified by the sending user (s)). The invention further encompasses apparatus comprising modules for carrying out the invention as described above, computer program products and computer executable software code for carrying out the invention as described above, as well as digital data retention media on which the software code is stored, and user interfaces which facilitate these activities.

It is a feature of the present invention that it encourages or incentivizes shared communications among users of online services by providing rewards and other features associated with the transmission of such communications electronically.

It is also a feature of the present invention that it provides a panoply of rewards and other benefits associated with the transmission of electronic greetings that can entice a user, and thereafter maintain that user's loyalty, to a web site.

Brief Description of The Drawings These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention

will become more apparent from the detailed description of the most preferred embodiments thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein : FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the web site portion of the system of the present invention, showing the various options and features that may be accessed from the home page of the web site ; FIG. 2 is an operational flow diagram of the log in procedure ; FIG. 3 is an operational flow diagram of the registration procedure ; FIGS. a and 4b together comprise an operational flow diagram of the "send greeting"procedure ; FIG. 5 is an operational flow diagram of the"receive greeting"procedure ; FIG. 6 is a storyboard representation of an illustrative home page portion of the user interface for the present invention ; and FIG. 7 is a screenshot of an illustrative instant win ticket for use with the present invention.

Detailed Description of The Preferred Embodiments Glossary of Terms and Acronyms Interactive communications network : A distributed communications network in which a user has a realtime connection to other entities connected to the network. For example, classic radio is not interactive while radio-over-the-lnternet has some interactive elements. The most popular interactive communications network today is the Internet.

Network access device : A device providing a user with access to an interactive communications network. Well known network access devices include, but are not limited to, home personal computers, Internet terminals, interactive kiosks, cellular telephones and interactive digital televisions.

Online : A state in which a direct or packet oriented connection exists between a network access device and, e. g., a content provider, such that information may be transmitted or received over an interactive communications network.

Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) : The standard World Wide Web client-server protocol used for the exchange of information (such as HTML documents, and client requests for such documents) between a Web client (e. g., a browser) and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of different types of messages which can be sent from the client to the server to request different types of server actions. For example, a"GET"message, which has the format GET, causes the server to return the document or file located at the specified Universal Resource Locator (URL).

Client-Server : A model of interaction in a distributed system in which a program at one site sends a request to a program at another site and waits for a response. The requesting program is called the"client,"and the program which responds to the request is called the"server."In the context of this invention, a data source that is offering informational content on an interactive communications network (e. g., the web site of the invention) is called a"server," while a network access device communicating with and receiving informational content from such a server is called a"client."For the World Wide Web, the client software is typically a"Web browser" (or just a"browser") which runs on a user's computer machine ; the program which responds to Web browser requests at a web site is commonly referred to as a"Web server."

Internet : A global collection of interconnected (public and/or private) computer networks that are linked together by a set of standard protocols to form a distributed network. While this term is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass variations which may be made in the future, including changes and additions to existing standard protocols.

Intrant : A private or otherwise isolated part of the Internet, often with restricted access.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) : A standard coding convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking attributes to informational content within documents. (HTML 2. 0 is currently the primary standard used for generating Web documents.) During a document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as"tags") are embedded within the informational content of the document. When the Web document (or"HTML document") is subsequently transferred from a Web server to a Web browser, the codes are interpreted by the Web browser and used to parse and display the document. In addition to specifying how the Web browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to create links (commonly referred to as"hyperlinks") to other web sites and other Web documents. For more information on HTML, see Graham, lan S., The HTML Source Book, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995 (ISBN 0471-11894-4).

Universal Resource Locator (URL) : A string of alphanumeric characters and other symbols which together comprise a unique address that"points to,"i. e., fully specifies the location of, a file or other resource on the Internet ; such an address is also sometimes called a Uniform Resource Locator. The general format of a URL is protocol./llmachine address : portlpathlfilename. The machine address is usually set forth either in a standard numeric format or, more commonly, in an alphanumeric"domain name"format ; the path and filename are usually set forth in alphanumeric characters as well. The port specification is

optional, and if none is entered by the user, the Web browser defaults to the standard port for whatever service is specified as the protocol. For example, if HTTP is specified as the protocol, the Web browser will use the HTTP default port.

Browser : Hardware and/or software that can download HTML or other informational multimedia content delivered from a URL, via HTTP or otherwise, and that can display it on a user's network access device.

World Wide Web ("Web") : Used herein to refer generally to both (1) a distributed collection of interlinked, user-viewable hypertext documents (commonly referred to as"Web documents"or"electronic pages"or"home pages") that are accessible via the Internet, and (2) the client and server software components which provide user access to such documents using standardized Internet protocols. Currently, the primary standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and acquire Web documents is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and the electronic pages are encoded using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). However, the terms"Web"and"World Wide Web" are intended to encompass all markup languages and transport protocols which have been developed previously and/or will be developed in the future, and which may be used in place of or in addition to the Hypertext Markup Language and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, respectively.

Implementation of the Preferred Embodiments The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be further described with reference to the drawings. However, before discussing the details thereof, it should be understood that for the embodiments of the invention which involve the transmission of greetings via interactive computer networks such as the Internet, it is contemplated that the network access device most commonly utilized by participants will be a computer machine, typically a personal computer ("PC") of the type commonly found in many homes and offices today, for example,

a"desktop"PC or a portable or"laptop"PC. Such devices are usually comprised of a microprocessor, which is connected to a modem or other device for Internet access, as well as to output devices (such as a monitor or display and, typically, a printer), input devices (such as a keyboard and a pointing and selection device, such as a"mouse"or a touch screen), memory devices (such as random access memory or"RAM"and read-only memory or"ROM"), storage devices (such as hard disks, diskette drives and other computer readable and/or computer usable digital data retention media), and other peripheral devices (e. g., scanners).

Typically, the microprocessor operates upon the digital data, which may comprise executable"code,"i. e., sequences of instructions that are either hard-wired in the machine or, more commonly, contained in the memory and/or stored on the storage devices and/or received through the modem (these sequences of instructions are also known as"software programs"or just "software") ; typical software includes application programs such as browser software and email software, as well as operating systems and other application programs (e. g., word processing programs, spreadsheet programs, etc.). All of these elements and operations of a typical PC used for Internet access are well known in the art, and therefore will not be described in any further detail herein.

However, it is contemplated by the present invention that other Internet access devices may be used by participants as well, either instead of or in addition to a PC, including handheld computer machines or"palmtops,"personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), cellular telephones, and dedicated Internet access devices such as Internet terminals and interactive kiosks, as well as interactive digital televisions ("WebTVs") and other so-called"Internet appliances." Furthermore, although it is contemplated that in general the web site of the invention will be implemented on one or more computer machines or computer systems ("hardware") running appropriate server software (as well as other software as needed, including one or more application programs) and utilizing

appropriate data structures, it should also be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular computer hardware or to any particular implementation or programming technique, and that it may be implemented using any hardware and techniques that are appropriate for implementing the functionality described herein. The invention may be implemented in any appropriate operating system using any appropriate programming language or programming techniques or data structures. Such implementations are also well known in the art, and therefore will not be described in any further detail herein.

As stated above, some of the preferred embodiments are implementations of the present invention on the Internet. The operation of the Internet-based embodiments of the web site of the present invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Referring first to the block diagram of FIG. 1, the web site comprises a user interface invocable by a web site application program that includes a"home page"100 which participants (whether registered or not) may initially access by pointing their browser software to the URL of the web site. The home page consists of a page of HTML data that preferably includes some introductory and/or explanatory or instructional text as well as attractive graphics and various forms of advertising, including so-called click-through or banner advertising. Although the text and graphics that are displayed on the home page are initially the same for all participants (whether registered or not) at the beginning of each session, preferably some portions thereof may later be changed or updated, during the course of a session (after the participant registers or logs in), in order to display account information or other information that is unique to each registered participant who accesses the web site.

As shown schematically in FIG. 1 (and as illustrated in FIG. 6, to be described in further detail below), the user interface of home page 100 preferably also includes several display regions which enable access to various other features of the web site through"navigation,"in a well-known fashion via a series

of user activatable controls, preferably implemented as a plurality of hypertext links, each of which, when activated, instantiate a subordinate user interface comprising other pages of HTML data providable by the web site ; these display regions are represented schematically by blocks 102-156. Although not depicted in FIG. 1, it is to be understood that each page of HTML data at the web site that is available for download and display by a participant's browser will preferably contain a hypertext link (hereinafter referred to simply as a"link") to each of the other features of the web site represented by blocks 102-156. Nevertheless, as there certain features or areas of the web site that are preferably available only to registered participants, it is contemplated that access to those areas or features from the home page (or from other pages of the web site) will be denied unless the participant completes the registration procedure (or is already registered and completes the log in procedure) ; most preferably, this denial of access is accomplished by detecting activation of the relevant links and instantiating the subordinate user interface of the registration (or login) procedure instead, thereby encouraging new participants to register (and encouraging returning registered participants to log in) as described in further detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 2 in addition to the aforementioned FIG. 1, block 102 represents a display region containing a link to a registration procedure, the details of which are depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 2. It is to be understood that when a participant activates any link to the registration procedure, this action preferably instantiates a subordinate user interface (not shown) that provides certain additional user activatable controls to enable the participant to complete the registration procedure in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. 2. Specifically, a participant enters the registration procedure at step 200, and is prompted to provide a name and an email address in step 202, to create a password (and preferably a separate"username"as well) in step 204, and to provide a variety of other personal information in steps 206 and 208, thereby establishing a personal "profile"for the participant, and all of this data is subsequently uploaded to the web site (not shown). Thereafter, the participant is given the option at step 210

to provide or deny permission to the web site operator to include the participant in various mailing lists, after which the participant must review at step 212 legal information pertaining to the use of the web site and its terms of service, and must decide at step 214 whether those terms are acceptable. If not, the process returns to step 200, and the participant is given an opportunity to complete the registration process again. However, if the terms of service are accepted at step 214, preferably a standard confirmation message is then sent to the email address provided by the participant, and the participant is invited at step 216 to review that message and to confirm by activating (i. e., by"clicking on") a link embedded within that message. If the participant decides not to do so, then the registration remains unconfirmed at step 218 and the process ends. However, if the participant does click on the link provided, the registration is confirmed at step 220, and the participant's browser is preferably thereafter redirected to home page 100. Upon confirmation of the registration, an account is established for that participant, and data storage facilities are allocated to that account for storage of the participant's personal information and personal profile, all in accordance with techniques that are well known in the art.

Block 104 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link to a login procedure for participants who have registered previously ; this procedure is further described in the flowchart of FIG. 3. It is to be understood that when a participant activates any link to the login procedure, this action preferably instantiates a subordinate user interface (not shown) that provides certain additional user activatable controls to enable the participant to complete the login procedure in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. 3. Specifically, the participant enters the login procedure at step 300, and is requested at step 302 to confirm that he or she is a"member" (i. e., that he or she is already registered). If not, a link to the registration procedure described previously and depicted in FIG. 2 is activated. Otherwise, the participant is requested at step 304 to enter the participant's current email address, as well as the participant's current password (and preferably his or her current username as well), and is prompted at step 306

to submit this login information, which is uploaded and then verified at step 308.

If the login information entered by the participant is incorrect (i. e., if the email address or the password does not match the corresponding data recorded either at the time the participant completed the registration procedure or during the most recent update thereof), then the process returns to step 304 so that correct or more current login information may be submitted. While in some embodiments of the invention these verification steps could be repeated indefinitely, it is preferable to place a limit on the number of times that the system will continue to attempt such verification without success, after which the login process will end and no further submissions of login information will be accepted from that participant until some remedial action takes place (not shown). However, if the login information submitted by the participant is successfully verified at step 308, then the registered participant's account information is retrieved from the appropriate data storage facility (not shown), and the process ends, after which the participant's browser is preferably redirected to home page 100. However, as mentioned above, preferably a modified version of home page 100 will thereafter be provided ; an example of such a modified home page portion of the user interface is illustrated in FIG. 6. Specifically, this modified version appears "customized,"by displaying in various display areas (or"fields") the registered participant's name (as shown at 600 in FIG. 6) as well as other portions or elements of that participant's account information.

Most preferably, each such customized version of home page 100 will include display regions for account information such as that participant's current total number of entries for each of the sweepstakes contests being operated at the web site (as shown at 602, 604, 606, 608 and 610 in FIG. 6), as well as the total number of eCards that have been sent and received by that participant (as shown at 612 and 614 in FIG. 6), and the current total number of points (net of redemptions) that have been accumulated by that participant (as shown at 616 in FIG. 6). In addition, each such customized version of home page 100 will most preferably include display regions for the number of eCards that have been sent

by others to, but have not yet actually been received (i. e., directly viewed) by, that registered participant (as shown at 618 in FIG. 6), the number of"reminders"for that day awaiting that registered participant (as shown at 620 in FIG. 6, and as described in further detail below), the number of instant win game tickets that were previously saved for and are awaiting play by that registered participant (as shown at 622 in FIG. 6, and as described in more detail below), and for certain registered participants, the number of unread email messages awaiting that participant (as shown at 624 in FIG. 6, and as described in more detail below).

Block 106 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link to an optional log off procedure, which is not shown separately but which preferably enables a registered participant (who has logged in) to activate a control so as to redirect his or her browser to the non-customized version of home page 100 (in which fields 600-624 are empty or in which zeros or other characters are displayed). This feature is useful in the event that multiple participants who share the same PC wish to use the invention successively, so that one such participant (who is registered and has logged in) may, without turning off the PC or closing its Internet connection, and even without closing the browser or pointing it to another URL, conceal and prevent further access to his or her account information while at the same time enabling another such participant (whether registered or not) to utilize the web site of the invention.

Turning now to FIGS. 4a and 4b in addition to the aforementioned FIGS.

1-3 and 6, in one of the preferred embodiments of the invention a participant (whether registered or not) may convey one or more greetings via the Internet using an eCard similar to that utilized in the prior art (without the sender having to specify any associated prize), through a procedure that is represented by the link contained in the display region of block 110 in FIG. 1 (but which may also be accessed through the link contained in the display region represented by block 108) ; this"send greeting"procedure is further described in the flowchart of FIGS.

4a and 4b. It is to be understood that when a participant activates any link to the "send greeting"procedure, this action preferably instantiates a subordinate user

interface (not shown) that provides certain additional user activatable controls to enable the participant to create a greeting in accordance with the flowcharts of FIGS. 4a and 4b. Specifically, the participant enters this procedure at step 400 in FIG. 4a, and is presented at step 402 with a wide variety of eCards from which to choose ; preferably, for ease of review and selection, these greetings are organized into categories (e. g., birthday or anniversary or wishes, expressions of love or friendship, expressions of good wishes relating to secular or religious holidays or to other events, party invitations, etc.) in any appropriate manner, as has become customary in the prior art. In addition, registered participants (who have logged in) most preferably are also given the option to select an eCard from among those (if any) that were previously designated by that registered participant as being a"favorite"eCard (in a procedure that will be described below) ; these"favorite"eCards are not illustrated separately in FIG. 4a, but it should be understood that an opportunity to review them is made available to registered participants when step 402 is reached. This may be accomplished, for example, by activating a link (as shown illustratively at 626 in FIG. 6) which, if activated by a registered participant who has already logged in, would instantiate yet a further subordinate user interface displaying the"favorite"eCards of that registered participant ; if that link were activated instead by a participant who had not yet registered, preferably this would be detected and the subordinate user interface of the registration procedure described previously and depicted in FIG.

2 would be instantiated instead. Similarly, if that link were activated by a registered participant who had not yet logged in, this would be detected and the subordinate user interface of the login procedure described previously and depicted in FIG. 3 would be instantiated instead.

Referring now again to the"send greeting"procedure of FIGS. 4a and 4b, the participant (whether registered or not) will preferably have a wide variety of eCards from which to choose. Some may be static, while others will contain moving image elements that can be created using Flash (a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. of San Francisco, CA) or similar software for generating

animated images for display on the World Wide Web, as is well known in the art.

Although most of the eCards will be appropriate for an individual sender to send to an individual recipient, in accordance with the invention some will be"group" eCards, e. g., an invitation or a"thank you,"that will be more appropriate for multiple recipients. The subordinate user interface instantiated by entering the "send greeting"procedure will contain a plurality of user activatable controls to enable the participant to view a multiplicity of eCards, as desired, and eventually to select one for use, at which time the appropriate data specifying the selected eCard is uploaded (not shown) to the web site.

After selecting an eCard at step 402 in FIG. 4a, the participant may then decide at step 404 whether to continue with the"send greeting"procedure by "personalizing"that eCard. If not, it is assumed that the participant has decided not to send that eCard, and the process returns to step 402 for the selection of a different eCard. However, as soon as the participant elects to proceed beyond step 404 with the selected eCard, several personalization steps take place, for which one or more subordinate user interfaces are instantiated.

First, the sending participant (the"sender") must decide at step 406 whether there will be more than one recipient, and if not, registered senders (who have logged in) most preferably are thereafter given the option at step 408 to select the recipient from among the individuals (if any) whose names and email addresses were previously entered by that registered sender and stored in an "address book" (this feature will be described below) ; as shown at steps 410- 412, even if there will be multiple recipients, a registered sender may continue select recipients from the address book until all of the intended recipients have been specified. This address book option will not be available, however, if the sender is not yet registered (or if the sender is registered but has not yet logged in), but even if the sender is registered (and has logged in), the sender may opt to bypass the address book option, and in any event this feature will not be of any use if one or more of the intended recipients is not yet entered in the sender's

address book. In any of these cases, the sender is prompted to supply the name and email address of a sole recipient by entering it manually at step 414.

Similarly, if a non-registered sender decides at step 406 that there will be more than one recipient for the selected eCard greeting, the sender is prompted at steps 416-418 to enter the names and email addresses of the recipients manually, until all of the intended recipients have been specified.

As mentioned above, an eCard greeting sent to multiple recipients would be useful for an individual to express the same sentiments to many people, as well as for extending to many persons an invitation to a gathering/event. For the purposes of the latter, it is within the scope of the invention to provide, among the eCards from which the sender may select, a number of eCards that are more analogous to a conventional paper invitation to a gathering or party, than to a traditional paper greeting card expressing sentiments or emotions. It is also within the scope of the invention to encourage the use of the web site for distribution of invitations, by providing senders with other event-related and party-related features, as described in further detail below.

After the name and email address of every recipient have been entered, and the corresponding data has been uploaded to the web site, the sender may then continue to personalize the eCard at step 420 by entering a personal message for the recipient, which will be incorporated into or otherwise be displayed to the recipient together with the eCard. In addition, at step 420 the sender may also enter a subject for the"boilerplate"email message that will be generated by the web site software and sent to the recipient (s) to announce the eCard. Furthermore, at step 422, the sender may further personalize the process by choosing delivery options for the eCard, such as immediate or deferred delivery, and if the latter, by specifying the date and time therefor ; most preferably, the sender will be permitted to designate any delivery date that is within one year of the date on which the"send greeting"process is completed. Finally, the sender may optionally personalize the process even further by

selecting one or more digital photographs (from a library of digital photographs to which the sender will have access, perhaps including one or more digital photographs previously supplied by the sender for this purpose, and stored as part of the sender's personal profile), and then attaching one or more of such photographs to the eCard (not shown). The appropriate data for each of these personalization steps is also uploaded (not shown) to the web site, as necessary.

Thereafter, at step 424, the sender is permitted to decide whether to cancel the eCard ; if so, the process returns to step 402. Otherwise, the sender can decide at step 426 whether to preview the eCard ; if not, the process continues to step 430 (as shown in FIG. 4b), where the sender is requested to confirm that the eCard should be sent. However, if the sender elects the preview option, then the software constructs an HTML page containing the eCard (not shown) and that page is downloaded to the sender's browser for review (not shown). The sender may then decide at step 428 whether to make any changes in (i. e., whether to "edit") the personal message for the recipient, and if so, the process returns to step 420. If not, the sender is thereafter permitted once again to decide (in step 429) whether to cancel the eCard and start over, in which case the process returns to step 400. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step 430 (in FIG. 4b) where, as mentioned above, the sender is requested to confirm that the eCard should be sent.

If the sender does not confirm that the eCard should be sent, then the process returns to step 402. Otherwise, the web site software constructs an HTML page containing data representing the personalized eCard (not shown) ; an email message is then generated containing a small amount of boilerplate text, such as"an electronic greeting is waiting for you at..."followed by a link to the URL of the HTML page containing the eCard, and the email message is sent over the Internet to the email address (es) of the recipient (s) () as specified by the sender, bearing the subject specified by the sender ; alternatively, the email message is held for deferred delivery, as specified by the sender. Preferably,

regardless of when it is delivered, the email message will also include an indication of the length of time that the electronic greeting will continue to be available for repeated viewing by the recipient.

At this stage in the"send greeting"process, the invention requires that the sender be provided with at least one incentive reward ; preferably, the sender is provided with more than one incentive reward, at least one of which encompasses immediate eligibility for a prize, and at least one of which encompasses deferred eligibility for a prize. More preferably, the latter takes the form of an automatic award to the sender of one or more points as well as an equal number of sweepstakes entries, which will be described in further detail below, while the former takes the form of an instant win game, which sender may decide at step 432 (in FIG. 4b) whether to play immediately. If the sender decides not to play the instant win game immediately, preferably that game is automatically saved for possible later play, although most preferably this"save game"feature is provided only to registered senders (whose account information is updated such that the number of instant win game tickets that are awaiting play by that registered participant [displayed at 622 in FIG. 6] is incremented by one). In any event, if the sender decides not to play the instant win game immediately, the sender is thereafter offered the option at step 434 to send another greeting, and if this offer is accepted, then the process returns to step 402, but if this offer is not accepted, then the"send greeting"process ends.

However, if the sender elects to play the instant win game immediately, then this action preferably instantiates a subordinate user interface (as illustrated in FIG. 7, which will be described in further detail below) whereby at step 436 the sender's browser automatically downloads a page of HTML data comprising an instant win ticket. As shown at step 438, if the instant win game is played and no prize is won then the"send greeting"process ends ; the"send greeting"process also ends if a prize is won but the sender opts at step 440 not to claim the prize.

However, if a prize is won and the sender opts at step 440 to claim that prize,

then in order to do so the invention will preferably require that the sender be a registered participant ; thus, a registered sender (who has already logged in) may proceed directly to step 442 and view a prize confirmation message that will explain the actions (if any) that sender must take in order to claim and receive the prize. Thereafter, the"send greeting"process ends.

However, for a registered sender who has not yet logged in, a link (not shown) to the login procedure described previously and depicted in FIG. 3 will be activated, enabling that sender to do so, and thereby eventually return to step 442 and claim the prize. For a sender who has not yet registered, as described above in connection with FIG. 3 the login procedure includes a further link to the registration procedure described previously and depicted in FIG. 2, thereby ultimately enabling a non-registered sender to register, and thereby eventually return to step 442 and claim the prize. In either case, the"send greeting"process thereafter ends ; it should be understood that in the absence of registration or log in, any attempt by the sender to claim an instant win prize will fail, and the"send greeting"process will end with the prize left unclaimed. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to enable a non-registered sender to claim the prize later, provided that registration takes place within a specified, predetermined period of time after the greeting is sent (preferably no less than twenty-four hours, and preferably no more than seven days), and perhaps even for the web site operator to remind that sender by email of that registration deadline.

However, as set forth above, preferably the sender (whether registered or not) is also rewarded with points and sweepstakes entries ; most preferably, for each greeting that is sent, the sender is provided with one entry into each of the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sweepstakes contests that are conducted by the operator of the web site, as described in further detail below.

Although not illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b, the invention also encompasses the possibility that a selected eCard greeting can be received from

multiple senders which, as mentioned above, would be useful for a group of people to express the same sentiments to one individual. Although in most cases there will only be a single recipient for such a multiple-sender greeting, the case of multiple recipients for a greeting from multiple senders is also within the scope of the invention. Regardless of the number of recipients, it is contemplated that such a multiple-sender greeting will originate initially from a first sender, who will select the eCard in the manner described above (perhaps after private consultation with the other proposed senders), designate at least one recipient, and then"pass"the eCard to the next sender, who perhaps would add his or her own separate message and then"pass"the eCard on to yet another sender, and so on, until the last sender is reached, who would then trigger the transmittal of the eCard to the recipient (s). Each of the senders would then be provided with the same immediate and deferred incentive awards as described above.

As mentioned above, it is within the scope of the invention to allow an electronic greeting that is in the nature of an invitation to a party or other event to be sent to multiple recipients, and preferably the invention also encompasses the provision of other features which may be utilized optionally by the sender (preferably these features are provided only to registered senders) and which may encourage the recipients to attend the party or event. These features, which are contingent upon the party or event being listed in a separate event registry maintained by the web site operator for this purpose, include enhancing the eligibility of the recipients to win a reward by making one or more special sweepstakes contests available only to the attendees of those parties and events that are listed in the registry, and which, for example, take place on a given date. Recipients of invitations may enter such contests only while attending the party or event, and targeted prizes that are consistent with the nature of the party or event (e. g., whether a personal event, such as an anniversary party, or a business-oriented event) will be offered by one or more pre-selected online vendors and/or conventional retail vendors, with whom the web site operator will have previously established special commercial relationships for this purpose. As

an added benefit to the sender, most preferably this event registry will also function as a clearing center for the event, enabling recipients of invitations to respond (or"RSVP") directly to the registry, and maintaining a tally of such responses which the sender may then access as desired.

Referring now to FIG. 5 in addition to the aforementioned FIGS. 1-3, 4a, 4b and 6, a participant (whether registered or not) may receive one or more eCard greetings via the Internet from one or more senders (without the senders having to specify any associated prize), through a procedure that is described in the flowchart of FIG. 5. The recipient enters this"receive greeting"procedure at step 500 in FIG. 5, and after opening and reading the email message announcing that an eCard has been sent (not shown), and after clicking on the hypertext link embedded within that message (not shown), the recipient's browser is pointed to the URL associated with the eCard greeting (i. e., a subordinate user interface is instantiated), and the recipient may then view the eCard at step 502. Thereafter, at step 504, the recipient is given the option whether to reply to the sender (s) in like fashion (i. e., by sending a different eCard to the sender (s)), and if that option is accepted, then the"send greeting"procedure described previously and depicted in FIGS. 4a and 4b is invoked, beginning at step 400. However, if the recipient does not wish to reply to the sender (s) with a different eCard, then at step 506 the recipient is given the further option of sending the same eCard (as he or she received) to one or more other individuals, in which case the"send greeting"procedure described previously and depicted in FIGS. 4a and 4b is also invoked, but beginning at step 404 instead (as indicated by the entry point P in FIG. 4a), thereby enabling the recipient to bypass the selection of an eCard and to re-personalize the eCard by proceeding directly to the personalization steps described above.

If the recipient opts not to send the same eCard (as he or she received) to someone else, then at this stage in the"receive greeting"process, the invention requires that the recipient be provided with at least one incentive reward ; it should

be understood, however, that in accordance with the invention the recipient will be provided with at least one incentive award for each greeting that he or she receives, regardless of whether the recipient decides to reply to the sender, and/or to send the same greeting (as he or she received) to someone else ; in accordance with the invention, either of the latter actions entitles the recipient to additional similar incentive awards because he or she then also becomes a sender of one or more greetings, as described above in connection with FIG. 4b.

Preferably, for each greeting received the recipient is provided with more than one incentive reward, at least one of which encompasses immediate eligibility for a prize, and at least one of which encompasses deferred eligibility for a prize. Most preferably, the latter takes the form of an automatic award to the recipient of one or more points as well as an equal number of sweepstakes entries, which will be described in further detail below, while the former takes the form of an instant win game, which recipient may decide at step 508 (in FIG. 5) whether to play immediately. If the recipient decides not to play the instant win game immediately, preferably that game is automatically saved for possible later play, although most preferably this"save game"feature is provided only to registered recipients (whose account information is updated such that the number of instant win game tickets that are awaiting play by that registered participant [displayed at 622 in FIG. 6] is incremented by one). In any event, if the recipient decides not to play the instant win game immediately, at this point the"receive greeting"process ends.

However, if the recipient elects to play the instant win game immediately, then this action preferably instantiates a subordinate user interface (as illustrated in FIG. 7, which will be described in further detail below) whereby at step 510 the recipient's browser automatically downloads a page of HTML data comprising an instant win ticket. As shown at step 512, if the instant win game is played and no prize is won then the"receive greeting"process ends ; the"receive greeting" process also ends if a prize is won but the recipient opts at step 514 not to claim

the prize. However, if a prize is won and the recipient opts at step 514 to claim that prize, then in order to do so the invention will preferably require that the recipient be a registered participant ; thus, a registered recipient (who has already logged in) may proceed directly to step 516 and view a prize confirmation message that will explain the actions (if any) that recipient must take in order to claim and receive the prize. Thereafter, the"receive greeting"process ends.

However, for a registered recipient who has not yet logged in, a link (not shown) to the login procedure described previously and depicted in FIG. 3 will be activated, enabling that recipient to do so, and thereby eventually return to step 516 and claim the prize. For a recipient who has not yet registered, as described above in connection with FIG. 3 the login procedure includes a further link to the registration procedure described previously and depicted in FIG. 2, thereby ultimately enabling a non-registered recipient to register, and thereby eventually return to step 516 and claim the prize. In either case, the"receive greeting" process thereafter ends ; it should be understood that in the absence of registration or log in, any attempt by the recipient to claim an instant win prize will fail, and the"receive greeting"process will end with the prize left unclaimed.

However, it is also within the scope of the invention to enable a non-registered recipient to claim the prize later, provided that registration takes place within a specified, predetermined period of time after the greeting is sent (preferably no less than twenty-four hours, and preferably no more than seven days), and perhaps even to remind that recipient by email of that registration deadline.

However, as set forth above, preferably the recipient (whether registered or not) is also rewarded with points and sweepstakes entries ; most preferably, for each greeting that is received, the recipient is provided with one entry into each of the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sweepstakes contests that are conducted by the operator of the web site, as described in further detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 7 in addition to the aforementioned FIGS. 1-6, an

illustrative version of a subordinate user interface comprising HTML data of an instant win ticket is shown ; the data is displayed as a graphical representation of a"ticket"that also contains some explanatory or instructional text. Such an instant win ticket may be static, although preferably it will have moving and/or movable image elements (e. g.,"doors"that can be opened) in order to sustain the participant's interest ; such moving and/or movable image elements can be created using Flash or similar software for generating animated images for display on the World Wide Web, as is well known in the art.

Preferably, the instant win ticket includes at least one instance of textual and/or graphical data representing or symbolizing a prize, the location of which is initially concealed or disguised in a manner that is configured to be indistinguishable from other locations on the ticket ; the participant"plays"the instant win game by trying to guess the location of the data representing the prize, by clicking on one or more designated locations until the data representing the prize is revealed. In the illustrative version shown in FIG. 7, the data representing the prize is concealed behind one of the"door"images 702, 704 or 706, and the participant may click upon each of these"doors"in turn, in order to"open"them and reveal the prize data (if any) concealed thereunder.

Although according to the invention only one instance of data representing a prize is concealed on each instant win ticket, it is within the scope of the invention to enable the participant to"open"each"door"in turn, until the prize data is revealed, so that every participant who plays the game is guaranteed to win something. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the actual instant win prizes may take the form of cash or points or additional instant win tickets, or even actual merchandise or discount coupons for such merchandise, although most preferably the prizes will take the form of cash and/or points.

As mentioned above, in addition to the provision of an instant win ticket, the present invention contemplates that each time that a greeting is sent and

received, both the sender of the greeting and the recipient of that greeting will also earn at least one point (provided that each is, or contemporaneously becomes, a registered participant), and for each point earned, will also be awarded an equal number of entries into each one of several different sweepstakes that are conducted periodically by the operator of the web site ; thus, each becomes separately eligible to win further prizes (registered participants can also earn points by engaging in certain other incentive activities at the web site, as will be described in further detail below, and points earned in those ways also preferably result in an award of an equal number of sweepstakes entries).

Preferably, the web site operator conducts at least five different sweepstakes, most preferably implemented as hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly contests in which registered participants are entered one or more times, and in each of which the accumulated entries of each registered participant are tallied at the stated periodic interval (s). The winner is then preferably selected by the web site operator at random from among the participants with entries at that time.

Thus, as is well known in contests of this type, the more entries that a particular registered participant has accumulated in the"pool"of entries, the greater his or her chances of being selected as the winner of the contest, and accordingly, the more greetings that a registered participant sends and/or receives, the better his or her chances of winning. However, in order to prevent abuse, a limit is preferably placed on the number of entries that will be awarded to any one registered participant in any given twenty-four hour time period ; most preferably, this limit will not exceed one hundred and fifty, although it could be set higher, if necessary, depending upon actual experience. It should be understood that even if that limit is reached, all participants will be able to continue to send eCards and other greetings using the web site ; however, once the limit is reached, no further entries will be awarded and no further points will be awarded, although it is within the scope of the invention for a registered participant to

exceed this limit on the number of points awarded within a twenty-four hour time period if he or she receives points awarded as instant win prizes. Optionally, other limits can also be imposed, e. g., a limit on the total dollar amount that any particular registered participant can win during the course of a week, or during the course of a month. Also, it is within the scope of the invention to establish two or more mutually exclusive levels of competition within each sweepstakes contest, based upon numerical ranges of entries usually earned (e. g., less than 50, 50-100, more than 100) within the associated time period, such that each participant competes for the sweepstakes prize (s) only with other participants who generally fall within the same range. In any event, the number of entries currently accumulated by a registered participant for each of these regular periodic sweepstakes contests will preferably be displayed on the home page 100, among that participant's account information (e. g., at 604, 606, 608 and 610 in FIG. 6).

It is contemplated that substantial cash prizes, the amounts of which will be predetermined by the web site operator, will be awarded to winners of the various sweepstakes contests, with the amount of the prize varying in direct proportion with the duration of the periodic interval of the contest. Purely by way of example, a cash prize of $25. 00 could be awarded to the winner of each of the hourly contests, with $1, 000. 00 being awarded to the winner of each of the daily contests, $10, 000. 00 to the winner of each of the weekly contests, $100, 000. 00 to the winner of each of the monthly contests, and $1, 000, 000. 00 to the winner (s) of the yearly contest (s). With respect to the yearly contest, however, it is within the scope of the invention to allow the prize to be shared among several registered participants, e. g., while the winning participant would receive most of the cash prize, smaller shares would be given to other registered participants who had either sent greetings to, or received greetings from, the winning participant.

Preferably, the names of the winners, the number of entries that each winner had accumulated in order to win a particular contest, and the dollar amounts of the prizes awarded to each winner, will be"posted"at the web site,

so that other participants can compare the number of sweepstakes entries in their own accounts to the number of sweepstakes entries that produced a winner during a previous time interval. Referring again to FIG. 1, block 124 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more pages of HTML data displaying such a winner fist, access to which is preferably permitted by registered and non-registered participants alike.

Apart from the regular, periodic sweepstakes contests described above, it is also within the scope of the present invention to include special sweepstakes contests as well, which will differ from the regular contests either in the nature of the prizes offered or in other ways. Referring again to FIG. 1, block 120 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more pages of HTML data describing such special sweepstakes contests involving"celebrities,"and to procedures (not shown) for enabling registered participants to partake in them.

For example, registered participants may be able to redirect or divert some or all of their sweepstakes entries to a contest for which the prize to be awarded is a pair of tickets to a concert appearance in a particular city on a specified date by a"celebrity" (i. e., an entertainer or entertainment group) ; preferably, the number of entries currently accumulated by a registered participant for any such special sweepstakes contest will be displayed on the home page 100, among that participant's account information (e. g., at 602 in FIG. 6). It should be evident that such a special contest would not be a recurring event, but would endure only until a short while before the date of the associated concert appearance, and would then terminate.

However, as an example of a recurring special contest, it may be possible for the web site operator to establish special commercial relationships with certain well-known celebrities, whereby registered participants could send eCards or other greetings to any one of those celebrities, perhaps using temporary email

addresses for those celebrities established by the web site operator for this purpose. Preferably, in order to prevent abuse, a limit would be placed on the number of greetings that can be sent to a celebrity in any given twenty-four hour time period ;, this limit would initially be set at an arbitrary number, but most preferably it would thereafter be adjusted (i. e., set higher lower), if necessary, depending upon actual experience.

At the end of a predetermined, stated time interval, the number of greetings received by each celebrity would be tallied, and the celebrity who received the most greetings would be determined, following which the web site operator would donate a predetermined amount of cash to a charitable organization which that celebrity had previously designated as his or her"favorite"charitable organization.

Optionally, the web site operator could donate smaller predetermined cash amounts to the favorite charities of the celebrities who received the second highest and third highest number of greetings during the same time period.

Preferably, such a contest would be held monthly, and although the celebrities who are included in each such contest could be selected at random by the web site operator from among those who had agreed to be involved, alternatively the web site operator could list (and/or perhaps present photographs) of only those celebrities (from among those who had agreed to be involved) who were about to celebrate a birthday during the coming month, to whom participants would then send birthday greetings. Regardless of the way in which the celebrities are chosen, such special sweepstakes would thus resemble"popularity contests,"but would benefit one or more charitable causes.

As another example a special contest involving celebrities, it may be possible for the web site operator also to feature a"celebrity date"contest, whereby registered participants will be able to submit eCards containing"date" ideas to various cooperating celebrities. The registered participant who submits the best"date"idea during a predetermined time interval would be selected to win a predetermined prize.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to make other special contests and games available to participants. For example, in a contest in which the prize (s) will preferably take the form of actual merchandise, participants can opt to review one or more pages of HTML data depicting one or more physical items of merchandise (e. g., an automobile), and will be given a period of time in which to enter the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the item (s). The participant whose entry is correct (or whose entry comes the closest to the actual price) will win that item (and, subject to that participant becoming a registered participant, will be entitled to claim it) ; if more than one participant enters the correct or closest price (i. e., if there is a"tie"), the winner will preferably then be selected by the web site operator at random from among the participants with the winning entries. The merchandise will preferably be supplied by a pre-selected vendor of such merchandise, with whom the web site operator will have established a special commercial relationship for this purpose.

Such contests will then allow for targeted marketing by the web site operator (and/or by the vendor of the merchandise involved), since it can be assumed that participants who entered the contest but did not win the merchandise will thereafter continue to have some interest in that merchandise, and accordingly they can be encouraged to purchase it from the vendor. Block 118 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more HTML pages which enable a participant to engage in such a price-bid contest.

Another example (also preferably accessible through a link contained in the display region represented by block 118 in FIG. 1) involves a knowledge-based game of skill in which the prize (s) will preferably take the form of discount coupons for merchandise (rather than the actual merchandise itself). Preferably, a participant will be able to choose a category (e. g., computers, books, automobiles, jewelry, etc.) from which a set of questions of varying difficulty will be drawn, and with which a specific, pre-selected item of merchandise will be

associated. The participant will be presented with the questions on the selected topic or subject matter in a predetermined order of difficulty (as determined by the web site operator), commencing with the easiest, and the correct answer to each question will be associated with a different discount prize. Preferably, the prizes associated with the questions in each category will range from modest discounts (e. g., 10% or less) for correct answers to the easiest questions, to more substantial discounts (e. g., 25% or more) for correct answers to the more difficult questions. The discounts will be offered against the normal retail price for an item of merchandise (e. g., a computer system) in that category, and will be offered by one or more pre-selected and/or conventional retail vendors of merchandise in that category, with whom the web site operator will have previously established special commercial relationships for this purpose.

The provision of the correct answer to a question will entitle the participant to continue to the next question in the set, while an incorrect answer will terminate the game (at least for that category for that participant), with the participant being entitled to claim the prize associated with the last question that he or she answered correctly (preferably subject to that participant becoming a registered participant). Most preferably, participants who are uncertain about the answers to one or more specific questions will be afforded the opportunity to request assistance from one or more friends or relatives who may be more familiar with the selected subject category, by forwarding the question (s) to such an individual via email ; if that individual provides the correct answer (s) within a specified period of time, then it is within the scope of the invention to reward that individual with the discount prize associated with that answer (against the purchase of the item of merchandise associated with that category of questions), again preferably subject to that individual becoming a registered participant. Games such as the one just described will also allow for targeted marketing by the web site operator (and/or by the vendor (s) of the merchandise involved).

As mentioned above, participants can also earn points (and thereby earn

sweepstakes entries as well) by engaging in certain other incentive activities at the web site, including the very act of completion of the registration process itself (by a participant who has not registered previously), as well as one or more of the following when completed by a registered participant : referral of non-registered users to the web site who then become registered participants (the link to which is contained in the display region indicated by the"Refer a Friend"block designated in FIG. 1 by the numeral 126), and providing certain optional personal information (as determined by the web site operator) for inclusion in the registered participant's personal profile, either during the initial registration process or thereafter, as described below ; other examples might include visiting one or more particular advertisers'web sites, or participating in other promotional activities offered by the web site operator from time to time.

Another preferable incentive activity, by which use of the web site is encouraged, is accessible via the link contained in the display region designated by the numeral 122 in FIG. 1 ; when this link is activated, it enables registered participants to reach a procedure in which they are asked to provide answers to optional survey questions in return for an award of additional points or perhaps even cash amounts or other physical prizes. It is within the scope of the present invention to make a range of prizes or point values available for this purpose, and to offer the most valuable prizes or the highest point totals to those registered participants who answer the greatest number of survey questions. In addition, and in order to provide further encouragement to participants to provide answers to the survey questions, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide answering participants with information indicating how all other registered participants have answered one or more of the same survey questions as a group (including, most preferably, a real-time indication of how the answering participant's answer would change those statistics), and/or how certain prominent registered participants, e. g., notable politicians, celebrities, etc. (with whom the web site owner will establish in advance special commercial relationships for this purpose), have answered one or more of the same survey questions as

individuals. It is contemplated that the survey questions will be designed to elicit, and thereby provide the web site operator with, more specific demographic, psychographic and behavioral information about the answering participants than would otherwise be the case after completion of the typical initial registration process alone ; such information would ultimately be useful for targeted marketing purposes.

As mentioned above, for each registered participant who has logged in, the appearance of the user interface of home page 100 is preferably customized in order to display certain elements of the participants'account information, and in accordance with well known techniques, the display of this information on the home page is preferably updated automatically, either immediately upon a change taking place, or in a periodic fashion. However, in accordance with the invention, a registered participant can, in addition, store certain personal information as well as preferred or"favorite"settings for certain web site options, all of which can serve to customize that participant's subsequent usage of the web site in several ways. Block 130 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link to this personal"preferences"area of the web site, from which further links are provided in order to access the individual preference features, as shown in FIG. 1.

However, as indicated in FIG. 1, each of these preference features (described in further detail below) can preferably also be accessed directly via links contained in display regions within the user interface of home page 100 on an individual basis.

One of these preference features enables registered participants to designate one or more of the available eCards as a"favorite"eCard, as mentioned above. As will be evident to those skilled in the art, this feature requires that sufficient data storage space be allocated to each participant's account so as to include appropriate data structures in which this information can be stored in digital form ; the techniques for implementing such a"favorites" feature are well known in the art. It will be apparent that this feature enables each

participant to accelerate the eCard selection process (step 402 in FIG. 4a) by optionally selecting only from among those eCards that he or she has designated previously as"favorites" ; in most cases, this will substantially reduce the number of eCards that need be reviewed in order to select one to send to a recipient.

However, it should be understood that registered participants who have designated certain eCards as"favorites"are not thereafter limited to making their selections only from among those"favorites" ; each such participant may still choose to review and select from all of the available eCards at the web site.

Referring again to FIG. 1, block 132 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more pages of HTML data displaying such a list of"favorite"eCards (or representations thereof orfurther links thereto) from which a registered participant may choose.

In accordance with the invention, a registered participant may also memorialize certain important recurring events, such as the birthdays and/or wedding (or other) anniversaries of friends and family members, and thereby create a customized calendar on which such events will be displayed in prominent fashion on one or more pages of HTML data (the link to this preference feature is contained in the display region indicated by block 134 in FIG. 1). In addition, a registered participant may preferably be given the option to designate some or all of these dates (or other important dates or deadlines) for incorporation into a "reminder"arrangement, such that the participant will be prompted on the designated dates to take certain action (s). Such a reminder could be generated by the web site software in the form of an email message that would also contain a link to the URL of the web site, and would be sent to the participant (at the participant's current email address) for subsequent viewing. In the alternative (or perhaps in addition), the web site software preferably would generate one or more pages of HTML data containing the reminder information, which would be made available at the web site for review by the participant at any time ; most preferably, the number of reminders awaiting review by a registered participant would be

displayed on home page 100 (for example, at 620 in FIG. 6), most preferably in close association with a direct link to the pages containing the text of those reminders, and would be updated periodically (preferably hourly or daily). The link to this preference feature (contained in the display region indicated by block 136 in FIG. 1) would preferably enable creation of new reminders, as well as deletion or revision or supplementation of existing reminders. The techniques for implementing such reminder and calendar features are well known in to those skilled in the art, to whom it will be evident that both of these preference features also require that sufficient data storage space be allocated to each participant's account so as to include appropriate data structures in which the calendar and reminder information can be stored in digital form.

As mentioned above, another preference feature that is preferably available only to registered participants is an"address book"feature, which allows the names and email addresses of potential recipients of greetings to be recorded and then easily selected when a greeting will be sent. The link to this preference feature is contained in the display region indicated by block 138 in FIG. 1. The techniques for implementing such an address book feature are also well known to those skilled in the art, to whom it will also be evident that this preference feature similarly requires that sufficient data storage space be allocated to each participant's account so as to include appropriate data structures in which the address book information can be stored in digital form, although it should be understood that the invention encompasses enabling each participant to establish more than one address book.

Optionally, a registered participant can elect to"share"his or her"address book"information and/or calendar/reminder information with other individuals, preferably by activating a link (not shown) to a special page of HTML data where the participant may provide identifying information about the other individual (s) with whom he or she proposes to share. If any of the other individuals is a registered participant, the web site software will generate and send to that

individual an email message containing a link to the URL of a page of HTML data at the web site, in which the individual will be given the option of accepting or declining the information proposed to be shared. If any of the other individuals is not a registered participant, then an email address for each of those other non-registered individuals is obtained (if possible), and the email message that is sent will preferably contain a direct link (along with appropriate explanatory text) to the web site's registration procedure (described previously and depicted in FIG.

2) ; after completing the registration process, the individual will be given the option of accepting or declining the information proposed to be shared. In the latter cases, as an added benefit, the registered participant who initiated the sharing proposal will also earn additional points, since he or she will have essentially accomplished the"Refer a Friend"procedure described above. Most preferably, a registered participant will also be given the option of conveying the same sort of information sharing proposal to the recipient of a greeting and/or a gift.

Another optional feature involves enabling any participant (not just registered participants) to"post"one or more important dates (such as the birthdays and/or wedding or other anniversaries of friends and/orfamily members) on a virtual"bulletin board"that will be implemented at the web site for this purpose (in accordance with techniques that are well known in the art), and which will preferably be accessible to all other participants. This feature will enable other participants to become aware of these dates, and to send greetings to the celebrants, thereby also encouraging further use of the web site.

It is also well known in the art to enable a registered participant, after initial registration, to access his or her registration information directly, on an as-needed basis, in order to make changes therein as appropriate. For example, a registered participant may wish to change his or her password or username, or to provide updated address information if, for example, the participant has moved or has changed his or her email address. Block 140 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate

user interface comprising one or more HTML pages that display, and enable revision of, a registered participant's registration information. This link also preferably enables a registered participant to provide additional optional personal information (as determined by the web site operator) for inclusion in the registered participant's personal profile, which as mentioned above, will most preferably result in an award of additional points to that participant.

Registered participants will also preferably be provided with an additional link (contained in the display region represented by block 142 in FIG. 1) which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more one or more HTML pages that will display that participant's account information in further detail than it is displayed on home page 100. For example, historical and/or statistical information for that participant's usage of the web site can be provided, such as that participant's average and/or maximum number of entries in each of the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and special sweepstakes contests in which that participant had thus far taken part, and/or the number of times that the participant had referred non-registered users to the web site who had themselves subsequently become registered participants. In addition, the dates and text of a selected few of that participant's upcoming reminders could be displayed, in close association with a direct link to a display of all of that participant's upcoming reminders, with facilities for deletion or revision or supplementation thereof, or for creation of new reminders. Moreover, a few excerpts from that participant's address book could be displayed, in close association with a direct link to a display of that participant's entire address book, with facilities for deletion or revision or supplementation of entries therein, or for creation of new entries.

Furthermore, the number of eCards that have been sent by others to, and have actually been received (i. e., directly viewed) by, that registered participant, could be displayed. Finally, for certain registered participants (as described in more detail below), the subject and the name of the sender of a selected few of the unread email messages awaiting that participant could also be displayed, in close association with a direct link to a display of all of that participant's unread email

messages.

As mentioned above, in addition to the provision of an instant win ticket and entries into the various sweepstakes, the present invention contemplates that each time that a greeting is sent and received, both the sender of the greeting and the recipient of that greeting (provided that each is, or contemporaneously becomes, a registered participant) will also earn at least one point. The points earned by registered participants in this way (and the points earned by them in all other ways as well, such as by the provision of certain personal information for inclusion in the registered participant's personal profile) can be"spent"or redeemed for items that are available through the web site. Block 116 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising a series of HTML pages displaying an online catalog of such items, which will be offered by one or more pre-selected online and/or conventional retail vendors, with whom the web site operator will have previously established special commercial relationships for this purpose.

It should be understood that a registered participant may redeem points for items which will be sent to or used by that participant himself or herself, or which will be sent to or used by others as a gift (either as an attachment to a contemporaneous eCard or other greeting, or even separately, without any accompanying greeting) ; furthermore, some of the items may be conveyed electronically (e. g., a discount coupon) while others may reqiure physical delivery, such as real-world merchandise (e. g., a product such as a computer system) or consumption, such as real-world services (e. g., an"all-expenses paid"trip to a resort). As will be appreciated, the"price"of particular items, that is, the number of points required to"purchase"them in this way, will vary in direct proportion to the actual value of the items being considered. While it is preferred that registered participants not be permitted to transfer points directly to other registered participants, it is within the scope of the invention to enable a registered participant to redeem points for a gift certificate that is usable only

towards purchases from the web site's online catalog ; such a gift certificate may "purchased"with points, and then sent to the recipient as a gift, either as an attachment to a contemporaneous eCard or other greeting, or separately, without any accompanying greeting. It should be understood that if the recipient of such a gift certificate is also a registered participant, then he or she may thereafter use (i. e.,"spend") the gift certificate alone, or may combine it with the redemption of any number of points in the recipient's account, when making selections from the web site's online catalog.

It is also within the scope of the invention to enable each registered participant to designate items (from among those listed in the web site's online catalog) which that participant would like to receive in the future from friends or family members as gifts. Preferably, such items would be listed in a gift"registry" established for that participant, and maintained as part of his or her account information. As will be evident to those skilled in the art, this feature would be analogous to some of the other preference features described above (in particular, the"favorites"feature for eCards), and similarly would require that sufficient data storage space be allocated to each participant's account so as to include appropriate data structures in which this information could be stored in digital form ; as stated above, the techniques for implementing such"favorites" features are well known in the art.

The use of this registry feature could take various forms. For example, a registered participant could utilize this registry feature by sending a special registry eCard to one or more recipients. In the alternative, and perhaps more preferably, if a registered participant has established such a registry, then upon entry of his or her email address by any potential sender (of a greeting, or a gift, or both), the items listed in the registry would automatically be displayed, enabling the sender to select one or more of them. Thereafter, the item or items selected in this manner could be removed from the registry listing, or perhaps more preferably, simply displayed adjacent to or in proximity with a"check mark"or

other symbol indicating to others that the item has (or items have) already been "purchased"for the registry owner.

Optionally, a registered participant may also have the opportunity to convert his or her points into a currency or other medium for cyber"exchange." The"exchange rate"between a participant's points and the items available from the various businesses with whom the web site operator will have previously established special commercial relationships for this purpose, will be displayed at the web site (e. g., a specific number of points would be equal to a gift certificate), and this exchange rate will fluctuate.

Registered participants would then have the ability to"invest"their points, as though the points were a currency. For example, a participant might be able to"invest"in an eCard in the same way that he or she would invest in a stock : an event might be held in which a registered participant could"invest"in whichever eCard he or she believes would be the one used most often by senders on a given day. If the usage of that particular eCard increases, the participant's accumulated points would grow ; conversely, if the usage of that eCard decreases, the participant's accumulated points would diminish. A continuously-updated display of the"market value"of each eCard would be provided at the web site.

As another example, this concept might enable participants to possess a physical credit card that"clears"points as a currency.

This embodiment of the invention also includes fostering use of the web site in still other ways. For example, the web site operator could hire individuals to snap photographs of people for direct placement on the web site. The subjects would not be charged for the photographs, although each subject would be assigned an identification number or some alternate identification code so that, if and when the subject becomes a registered participant, the photograph (s) could later be claimed, added to the participant's personal profile data, and used online, e. g., as an attachment to an eCard.

As stated above, in other preferred embodiments the rewards program of the present invention can be extended to participants who convey and receive electronic communications via the Internet through the use of non-eCard modalities, such as instant messaging,"voice over Internet"protocol, or even ordinary email messages, and to participants who convey and receive electronic communications through other interactive (but non-Internet) communications networks, such as a telephone network. Preferably, any or all of these embodiments may be implemented simultaneously and utilized conjointly, as described below, especially since each one of these different types of electronic communication may be considered to be a"greeting,"analogous to an eCard.

Thus, block 112 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more pages of HTML data (which together comprise an email"channel") in which a participant may initiate an option that will entitle that participant to receive an instant win ticket, and/or sweepstakes entries and/or points, each time that he or she sends or receives through the email channel a"greeting" (i. e., an email message of any type, regardless of its content). Preferably, this option is made available only to registered participants, and it may be implemented by the web site owner by adding the appropriate email server hardware and software to accommodate the various protocols for transmission and reception of email messages over the Internet in a known manner, as well as to provide email "mailboxes"for as many registered participants as may wish to establish them, and by making appropriate email client software available through the email channel.

In this embodiment, each time that an email greeting is sent or received through the web site's email channel, the accounts of registered sender and the registered recipient are automatically credited with the appropriate number of sweepstakes entries and/or points, and their accounts are also updated automatically such that the number of instant win game tickets that are awaiting

play by each such registered participant are incremented by one. Preferably, and as mentioned above, home page 100 will also display the number of unread email messages that have been received through the web site's email channel and that are awaiting registered participants (as shown at 624 in FIG. 6).

In the event that the recipient of such an email greeting is not registered (i. e., the recipient has an address at a different email server), preferably an instant win ticket (or a link to a page of HTML data at the web site containing such an instant win ticket) is embedded automatically in the greeting, such that the recipient of the greeting can access the ticket and thereafter proceed as though entering the"receive greeting"procedure (described above and illustrated in FIG.

5) at an entry point (not shown) just prior to step 510. Thus, if the recipient wins a prize, he or she will be given an opportunity to register in order to claim the prize, just as in the case of a non-registered eCard recipient.

This embodiment of the invention also encompasses methods for the web site operator to encourage and foster use of the web site by individuals who have not yet registered, and who perhaps have not yet even sent or received any eCard greetings utilizing the web site. Such methods involve targeting one or more specific, demographically-defined groups of individuals (e. g., all trial lawyers in a specific region), and pre-creating a mailbox (i. e., a specific email address) on the web site's email server for each individual within the targeted group ; while it is to be understood that each email address created in this way will necessarily be unique, the email addresses for all of the members of each group will at the same time preferably reflect in some common way one or more unique characteristic (s) of the targeted group (e. g., an email address such as "johndoe@websitename. com/law"). Each individual would then be contacted in an appropriate manner and informed that such a mailbox is available for use, and that by activating it (and at the same time becoming a registered participant), certain special benefits will inhere, such as enhanced eligibility to win a reward (e. g., to earn a higher number of rewards for each greeting sent or received, or

to win more prestigious rewards in the various web site contests and games, or to select from among a more prestigious offering of products and services when redeeming points, or perhaps even the opportunity to utilize unified or universal messaging services or other, similar products, or to engage in marketing efforts directed to other members of the group in cooperation with the web site operator).

In this manner, an atmosphere that each member of the group is a member of a select"club"will be engendered, thereby encouraging further participation and use of the web site.

It is also within the scope of this embodiment of the invention to extend the rewards program of the invention beyond email, to other types of greetings conveyed over the Internet in written format, such as those conveyed via an instant messaging service. Although not specifically shown in the drawings, it is contemplated that this option would be reached through the email channel described above, and would operate in a fashion similar to the email feature.

However, the implementation of this instant messaging feature requires that the operator of the web site either establish an instant messaging service of its own, or establish a commercial relationship with one or more of the current providers of instant messaging services for this purpose, and obtain periodic reports from such provider (s) containing tallies (preferably in electronic form) of instant messaging activity by and among registered participants, from which those participants'accounts can be automatically credited with the appropriate number of instant win tickets and/or sweepstakes entries and/or points.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the rewards program of the invention may be extended to electronic greetings conveyed in oral (as opposed to written) formats, either via the Internet or via other interactive communications networks.

Block 114 in FIG. 1 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more pages of HTML data (which together comprise a voice"channel") in which a participant may initiate an option that will entitle that participant to receive an instant win

ticket, and/or sweepstakes entries and/or points, each time that he or she sends or receives a voice"greeting" (i. e., a voice message of any type, regardless of its content), such as a"voice over Internet"message, or even a wireless telephone call. Preferably, this option is made available only to registered participants, and it may be implemented, for example, by the web site operator establishing special commercial relationships with one or more providers of Internet telephony services and wireless telephone services, and obtaining periodic reports from such providers containing tallies (preferably in electronic form) of Internet telephony and wireless telephone activity, respectively, by and among registered participants, from which those participants'accounts can be automatically credited with the appropriate number of instant win tickets and/or sweepstakes entries and/or points.

Thus, a registered participant who agrees through the voice channel to utilize the pre-selected provider of Internet telephony services (with whom the web site operator has established a commercial relationship for this purpose) can thereafter become eligible to earn rewards each time a greeting (i. e., a message) is sent or received using"voice over Internet"protocol. Similarly, a registered participant who agrees (also through the special voice channel) to utilize a pre-selected cellular telephone network access provider (with whom the web site operator has also established a commercial relationship for this purpose), can thereafter become eligible to earn rewards each time a cellular telephone call is placed or received by that participant.

In the event that such a voice greeting is received via Internet telephony by a recipient who is not registered, preferably an instant win ticket (or a link to a page of HTML data at the web site containing such an instant win ticket) is embedded automatically in the greeting, such that the recipient of the greeting can access the ticket and thereafter proceed as though entering the"receive greeting"procedure (described above and illustrated in FIG. 5) at an entry point (not shown) just prior to step 510. Thus, if the recipient wins a prize, he or she

will be given an opportunity to register in order to claim the prize, just as in the case of a non-registered eCard recipient.

In the event that such a voice greeting is received via wireless telephone by a recipient who is not registered, preferably the web site operator will inform the recipient, via a voice message or perhaps via some form of wireless messaging, that an instant win ticket will be made available at the web site for the recipient to play, provided that the recipient"visits"the web site within a specified, predetermined period of time after the message is sent. Thus, if the recipient does so, he or she will be able to access the ticket and thereafter proceed as though entering the"receive greeting"procedure (described above and illustrated in FIG. 5) at an entry point (not shown) just prior to step 510, and if the recipient wins a prize, he or she will be given an opportunity to register in order to claim the prize, just as in the case of a non-registered eCard recipient.

It is also within the scope of the invention to enable registered participants to request that a greeting be transmitted in other, special ways, albeit not through an interactive medium. For example, traditional media such as radio or television may be used, through commercial relationships which the web site operator will have established for this purpose. It is contemplated that a registered sender will have the option to request that a particular greeting be broadcast (via a traditional AM or FM radio signal), or even telecast (via a traditional television signal), on a particular day and at a specified time. As a further option, this feature could be implemented such that a registered sender would have to"spend"some of the points in his or her account in order for a greeting to be accorded this special treatment.

Turning now to still other features of the invention, and referring again to FIG. 1, block 128 represents a display region containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising a page of HTML data which enables a participant (whether registered or not) to contact the web

site operator, most preferably via email. Blocks 144-156 represent display regions each containing a link which, when activated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one or more pages of HTML data (preferably primarily text data) containing, respectively, press releases concerning the web site and/or its operator, information for other businesses about forming advertising and other commercial relationships with the web site operator, rules for the various sweepstakes contests, instant win games, and other contests associated with the web site, detailed answers to possible questions about the operation of the web site, background information about the web site operator and the origins or genesis of the web site, short explanations about various features and operations of the web site, and legal information such as patent, trademark and copyright notifications. It should be understood that the subjects enumerated above are exemplary only, and that links to HTML data covering other subjects may be substituted for, or provided in addition, at the option of the web site owner. The techniques for implementing such links are well known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in any further detail herein.

However, the link contained in the display region represented by block 146 in FIG. 1, which provides information to other businesses about forming advertising and other commercial relationships with the web site operator, also implicates certain methods encompassed by the invention which encourage and foster not only actual use of the web site by participants, but also the formation of such commercial relationships with other business entities. As mentioned above, one such method involves establishing business relationships with the hospitality industry through which hotel and resort guests who become participants will become eligible to win certain travel-oriented prizes and rewards. Specifically, in return for the opportunity to promote use of the web site in specific hotels or hotel chains or resorts that offer Internet access to their guests, the web site operator would offer customized contests and sweepstakes, as well as special awards and prizes, to those guests who access and utilize the web site from their hotels and/or resorts, thereby encouraging those guests to return to

(i. e., to continue to patronize) such hotels and resorts.

For other conventional"brick-and-morter"businesses, such methods include selecting a target retail establishment and communicating electronically with registered participants who have the demographic characteristics appropriate for patronizing that target establishment, in order to provide them with a promotional offer that will immediately enhance sales at that target establishment, thus demonstrating the ability of the web site and its operator to deliver direct marketing messages and to elicit favorable responses thereto. For example, in the restaurant industry, if a specific restaurant location is to be targeted, the web site owner can electronically review the personal profiles of all registered participants who reside or work within a specific distance from the targeted location, select only those participants who also have household incomes or other demographic characteristics that would suggest the likelihood of patronage at the target restaurant, and send to each one of the selected participants an email message containing an offer of a discount at the target location and/or some other reward (e. g., eligibility to win a special sweepstakes contest or other game established for this purpose at the web site) in return for patronage at the target location, perhaps on a specified date or even at a specified time or within a specified time period.

For online or"click-and-order"businesses, many of which now offer their products for purchase over the Internet using a"shopping cart"metaphor, such methods include retrieving (in a cooperative effort) the virtual shopping carts that have been"filled"by consumers with items for purchase, but then"abandoned" by those consumers prior to purchase (by failing to complete the virtual"check out"process, which is nowadays a relatively common occurrence), and thereafter providing one or more such consumers (i. e., one or more shopping cart"owners"), preferably via an email or browser message from the web site owner that most preferably is"disguised"to appear as though it was sent by the online business, with a"second chance"to complete the purchase by offering certain incentives

(e. g., a substantial discount on the purchase as well as an instant win ticket), thereby enabling those online businesses an opportunity to"recapture"customers who might otherwise have been lost, while at the same time encouraging these shopping cart owners to utilize the web site and ultimately to become registered participants.

It is also within the scope of the invention for the web site operator to enable certain registered participants to elect to upgrade their registration to one or more"preferred"levels of service. Preferably, only registered participants who had accumulated certain predetermined levels of points, or whose aggregate "purchases"through the web site had exceeded certain predetermined dollar values, or whose web site usage had exceeded some other predetermined thresholds, as established by the web site operator, would be invited to elect such an upgrade. Purely by way of example, these preferred levels of service could be referred to using color designations, e. g.,"copper,""silver,""gold"and "platinum"could be used to designate each of four different preferred levels of service, with"platinum"designating the highest level. Preferably, for each of these different preferred levels of service, the rewards program of the present invention would be enhanced, e. g., registered participants would receive additional benefits, such as double, triple, quadruple, etc. the"standard"number of instant win tickets and/or sweepstakes entries and/or points, for each greeting sent or received, and for every other web site activity in which the participant takes part that results in a reward, as described above.

Although the invention has been described primarily by illustrating how individuals may use it to send greetings to others, and may thereby receive rewards in return, it should be understood that the invention also may be extended to corporate or other business entities. For example, it is within the scope of the invention for the web site operator to offer greeting services to such entities for a fee, wherein such an entity would merely provide one or more lists of recipients, and would designate the eCard or other greeting to be sent to the

recipients on each list. The web site operator would then insure that the greetings were sent on or before a designated holiday or other deadline imposed by the business entity. Preferably, in conjunction with these services, the web site operator would also provide customization services so that a business entity could create eCards or other greetings that bear corporate symbols or trademarks, or that are customized in other ways. Most preferably, such a business entity would also be able to purchase promotional gift items from the web site's online catalog, or otherwise designate one or more gifts to accompany its greeting (s), which the web site operator would supply through one or more pre-selected online and/or conventional retail vendors, with whom the web site operator will have previously established special commercial relationships for this purpose.

While there has been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, itwill be apparentto those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims.