A system and method for providing conversational (multi-modal) access to
information over a communications network from any location, at any time,
utilizing any type of client/access, through a conversational
(multi-modal) portal. In one aspect, a conversational portal comprises a
conversational (multi-modal) browser that is capable of conducting
multi-modal dialog with client/access devices having varying input/output
(I/O) modalities. The conversational browser retrieves information (such
as content pages, applications) from an information source (e.g., content
server) in response to a request from a requesting client/access device
and then serves the retrieved information to the requesting client/access
device in a format that is compatible with the I/O modalities of the
requesting client/access device. In another aspect, the conversational
portal provides multimedia access on demand. The conversational portal
comprises an audio indexing system for segmenting and indexing audio and
multimedia data obtained from an information source, as well as a
multi-media database for storing the indexed audio and multi-media data.
A subscribing user can compose and maintain a broadcast program wherein
the user specifies which types, and in what order, different segments
(news, radio, etc.) stored in the database are played back/broadcasted to
the user.