Method and system for making a charged telephone call during an Internet browsing session

Claim 2

An Internet browsing method, comprising the steps of: connecting a user of a client machine to a given server; receiving a request to make an Internet Protocol (IP) telephony call from the client machine to a called party; receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; determining whether the IP telephony call is restricted based on the restriction information; responsive to the IP telephony call not being restricted, without disconnecting the client machine from the given server, initiating the IP telephony call; and charging the user's service provider account a given fee.

Claim 3

The method as described in claim 1 wherein the called party is a live operator at the given server.

Claim 4

The method as described in claim 2 wherein the IP telephony call is a voice-over-IP call between the client machine and the live operator.

Claim 5

The method as described in claim 2 wherein the IP telephony call is a voice-over-IP call between the client machine and an intermediate server.

Claim 6

The method as described in claim 4 further including the step of initiating a telephone call between the intermediate server and the live operator.

Claim 7

The method as described in claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a request includes receiving a selection of an icon on a page being displayed at the client machine.

Claim 8

The method as described in claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a request includes receiving an activation of a link on a page being displayed at the client machine.

Claim 9

The method as described in claim 7 wherein the link is associated with the called party destination.

Claim 10

The method as described in claim 1 wherein the charging step comprises: transmitting an authorization message to the service provider.

Claim 11

A browsing method, comprising the steps of: connecting a user at a client machine to a given Web site; receiving a request from the user to initiate a call to a live operator; receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; determining whether the call is restricted based on the restriction information; if the call is not restricted, initiating an IP telephony call from the user to the live operator without disconnecting the client machine from the given Web site; and charging the IP telephony call to the user's service provider account.

Claim 12

A browsing method, comprising the steps of: connecting a user at a client machine to a given Web site; receiving a request from the user to initiate a call to a live operator; receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; determining whether the call is restricted based on the restriction information; if the call is not restricted, initiating an IP telephony call from the user to the live operator without disconnecting the client machine from the given Web site; and charging the IP telephony call to the user's service provider account.

Claim 13

The browsing method as described in claim 10 wherein the step of receiving a request includes receiving an activation of a given element on a Web page served from the given Web site.

Claim 14

The browsing method as described in claim 10 wherein the given element is an icon representing that the given Web site has a live operator associated therewith.

Claim 15

The browsing method as described in claim 10 wherein the IP telephony call is a voice-over-IP call between the client machine and the live operator.

Claim 16

The method as described in claim 10 wherein the IP telephony call is a voice-over-IP call between the client machine and an intermediate server.

Claim 17

The method as described in claim 14 further including the step of initiating a telephone call between the intermediate server and the live operator.

Claim 18

A computer connectable to a computer network having a network service provider, the network service provider providing network access to a set of client machines, each user of a client machine having an account with the network service provider, comprising: a processor; a Web browser application; and an IP telephony calling application comprising: means, responsive to a user request to initiate a call, for receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; means for determining whether the call is restricted based on the restriction information; means, responsive to the call not being restricted, for initiating a voice-over-IP telephony call to a called party without interrupting a current browser connection; and means for issuing a transaction message to the network service provider that instructs the network service provider to charge the user a given amount for the voice-over-IP telephony call.

Claim 19

A computer connectable to a computer network having a network service provider, the network service provider providing network access to a set of client machines, each user of a client machine having an account with the network service provider, comprising: a processor; a Web browser application; and an IP telephony calling application comprising: means, responsive to a user request to initiate a call, for receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; means for determining whether the call is restricted based on the restriction information; means, responsive to the call not being restricted, for initiating a voice-over-IP telephony call to a called party without interrupting a current browser connection; and means for issuing a transaction message to the network service provider that instructs the network service provider to charge the user a given amount for the voice-over-IP telephony call.

Claim 20

The computer as described in claim 16 further including a microphone, and a voice recognition application executing by the processor for converting spoken inputs to a voice signal.

Claim 21

A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for use in a client connectable to a computer network having a network service provider, the network service provider providing network access to a set of client machines, each user of a client machine having an account with the network service provider, the computer program product comprising: means responsive to a user request to initiate a call, for receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; means for determining whether the call is restricted based on the restriction information; means, responsive to the call not being restricted, for initiating a voice-over-IP telephony call to a called party without interrupting a current browser connection; and means for issuing a transaction message to the network service provider that instructs the network service provider to charge the user a given amount for the voice-over-IP telephony call.

Claim 22

A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for use in a client connectable to a computer network having a network service provider, the network service provider providing network access to a set of client machines, each user of a client machine having an account with the network service provider, the computer program product comprising: means responsive to a user request to initiate a call, for receiving restriction information for the user, wherein the restriction information identifies at least one call restriction; means for determining whether the call is restricted based on the restriction information; means, responsive to the call not being restricted, for initiating a voice-over-IP telephony call to a called party without interrupting a current browser connection; and means for issuing a transaction message to the network service provider that instructs the network service provider to charge the user a given amount for the voice-over-IP telephony call.

Claim 23

The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one call restriction includes at lease one of a spending limit per unit of time, a total spending limit, and a limit on amount per transaction.

Claim 24

The method of claim 7 , wherein the page is an address book page.