A communications system includes a local community having a local network coupled to various terminals. A server coupled to the local network includes a terminal proxy server and a switch module, such as a soft switch or a private branch exchange (PBX) application. A terminal, such as a remote terminal, can clone any of the terminals in the local community. The remote terminal sends a clone request to the terminal proxy server, which then associates the remote terminal as a clone of a local terminal. The cloning may override the local terminal, in which case the local terminal becomes inactive. Alternatively, the cloning may cause the remote terminal to be a replicate of the local terminal, in which case both terminals remain active. In another feature, multiple soft clients, replicating different local terminals, may co-exist on a single computer platform.