An architecture and method for permitting internet telephones assigned to
a common telephone number but each having a unique IP address to be used
in the manner of telephones and extension telephones in PSTN. A calling
agent is provided with the fully defined address of two or more telephony
devices. Telephone traffic to or from either of these devices is directed
to a call agent, which contacts a gateway, which rings one or both of the
telephony devices. This gateway then forms a bridge with a secondary
gateway, to which are attached the other telephony devices that are to
act as extensions of the first, and combines the audio from both so that
they appear to the consumer to act like conventional PSTN extension
telephones. This architecture can be used with any Internet Protocol
telephony device, including video telephones.