Wish list

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

0001This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/698,379, filed Oct. 27, 2000, and entitled, “WISH LIST.” This application is also related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed on ______, 2005 (Atty. Docket No. MS150499.03/MSFTP151USB), entitled, “WISH LIST,” co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed on ______, 2005 (Atty. Docket No. MS150499.04/MSFTP151USC), entitled, “WISH LIST,” co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed on ______, 2005 (Atty. Docket No. MS150499.05/MSFTP151USD), entitled, “WISH LIST,” and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed on ______, 2005 (Atty. Docket No. MS150499.06/MSFTP151USE), entitled, “WISH LIST.” The entireties of the above-noted applications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

0002The present invention relates to computer systems, and more particularly to a system and method for facilitating electronic commerce via the Internet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

0003In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of the use of electronic shopping basket applications and/or wish list applications for providing an Internet user a mechanism in which to temporarily store items (e.g., goods, services, and/or offers) prior to purchasing these items electronically and for providing the items to others so that others may purchase the items as a gift to the owner. Typically, these applications reside on a Web server of a merchant or shopping site and are limited to use only on that particular site. A user can visit the merchant's web site and/or shopping portal and temporarily store item's of interest in an electronic item list. The electronic item list can then be reviewed or e-mailed to a third party, such as a friend or family member, so that the third party may purchase these items for the user as a gift. The electronic item list can also be a temporary storage for the user, until the user decides to make a purchase of that item at a later time.

0004Most item lists are limited to providing only offers to the user, such that the user cannot enter general product categories or manufacturers of items into a user's item list. Additionally, the items that can be added to the user's item list are limited to items or offers residing at the particular site, therefore, item's not residing at the particular site cannot be added to the item list. In some cases portals have implemented electronic shopping lists that have aggregated items across merchants, but often these electronic shopping lists are burdened with similar limitations as discussed above. In some situations smaller merchants cannot afford the membership costs associated with membership of a shopping portal,the costs associated with having their own electronic item list system or may not have the critical mass to justify a single site shopping list. A smaller merchant may wish to participate in a portal shopping list with other merchants (e.g., for critical mass), or may wish to outsource the running of a list on their site to a third party. Another problem with lists is that an item list may employ a database system to retrieve items or offers that reside on a user's item list and once the item or offer is removed from the database (e.g., no longer offered by the merchant), the record is completely removed from the items list. Therefore, there is no current system or method that provides a user with alternatives to the offer or item that has been removed.

0005Accordingly, there is an unmet need in the art for a system and method that mitigates the above stated deficiencies with traditional electronic item list applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

0006The present invention relates to an electronic item list system and method, such as a wish or gift list, for an electronic shopping mall/online shopping portal, or an item list system provided as a software service. The system and method provides a user with the ability to create a list of items that the user would like others to purchase for the user as a gift (e.g., as a gift registry or as a simple wishlist), or as a list of items that the user would like to retain for a later purchase (e.g., a shopping list). A user interface is provided that allows the user to select items electronically to add to a user specific gift list. The items are not limited to specific offers, but can include general product categories and/or products from a specific merchant or manufacturer. The user interface communicates through an interface component that extracts data from a number of supporting databases. For example, the databases can include a merchant database, an offers database, a manufacturers database and a products database. The interface will extract data from one or all of the databases based on the amount of information in a gift list request and provide the best results. As records are removed from the supporting databases, the interface allows for graceful degradation of the display, such that something is always displayed to the user.

0007The present invention also allows a user to enter custom elements that do not reside in any of the databases to the item list by employing an “add custom element” user interface. The user can then add custom elements found at different locations on the Internet from merchant's and products that are not registered with the system's databases. The user can add general products or categories of items of interest to the user that may be found online or may be only found offline. Additionally, the user may add small favors or services that the user would like performed for him or her (e.g., do the dishes, cut the lawn, etc). Therefore, structured data and non-structured data can be integrated into the user's item list. Alternatively, elements from other remote Internet sites may be added to a user's item list by providing these sites with code containing a product description and a link to the electronic shopping mall site.

0008In one aspect of the invention, the system and method allow a remote merchant site, to employ an infrastructure of the item list system to provide their own item list system that appears to reside on the merchant's site. The item list system associates a merchant to a merchant's items that limits a user's item list to products on the merchant's site and provides the appearance to the user that the item list system resides strictly at the merchant's site. The item list system and method therefore provide a merchant with the ability to outsource the functionality of the item list system to provide the merchant's site with a merchant specific item list system.

0009A wish and/or item list in connection with the present invention may be resident on a personal computing system, third party computing system, network, and any other suitable medium for carrying out the functionality described herein.

0010To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed and the present invention is intended to include all such embodiments and their equivalents. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

0011<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates a block diagram of an electronic item list system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0012<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> illustrates a possible environment of the electronic item list system in accordance with one aspect of the invention.

0013<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> illustrates an input screen for providing custom elements to the item list system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0014<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> illustrates a block diagram of a remote site having product links to the item list system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0015<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> illustrates an example of a possible mechanism for providing product links to the item list system of a remote merchant site in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0016<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> illustrates an example of structured and unstructured data residing in an item list database in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0017<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> illustrates an example of a possible item list display having both structured and unstructured data in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0018<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> illustrates an example of a possible mechanism for employing the infrastructure of the item list system to a remote merchant site in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0019<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> illustrate one particular methodology of degradation of items in the item list as records are removed from at least one of the databases in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0020<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> illustrate one particular methodology for finding a gift suggestion of an item list owner employing at least one of the databases of the item list system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0021<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> illustrate one particular methodology for adding items to a user item list employing the item list system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

0022<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> illustrates a block diagram of a computer system in accordance with an environment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

0023The present invention is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate description of the present invention.

0024The present invention is described with reference to an electronic item list system such as a wish list or gift list system employed with a shopping portal residing on a server computer accessible by a client computer. The present invention also relates to the methodologies employed to provide the functionality associated with the electronic item list system in accordance with the present invention. A page, such as a hypertext mark-up language (HTML) page, can be displayed at a client and is programmed to be responsive to a user selecting one or more elements displayed on the page. It is to be appreciated that although the present example will be illustrated with respect to an architecture employing HTML pages and the World Wide Web, the present invention may be practiced with any network architecture utilizing clients and servers (e.g., an Intranet).

0025In one aspect of the invention, a plurality of links to an interface component (e.g., one or more Application Service Provider (ASP) components) allow a user to add one or more offers and/or products from merchants to a user's electronic item list. The interface component adds identification numbers corresponding to one or more fields to an item list database. A link is provided that allows a user to display items retained in the electronic item list. The interface component receives a request for display of the items in the item list associated with the link. The interface component uses the identification numbers as keys into various databases and joins as much data from the databases as possible at render time to return to the user.

0026If data previously available has been removed from the databases, the interface component performs a degradation methodology and returns the best data available. Custom elements can be added to the item list by the user or by a link from a remote merchant site. The item list or a link to the item list can then be e-mailed to a family member or friend. Alternatively, the item list can be printed out and a hard copy given to a family member or friend (e.g., a person that is not literate in use of the Internet or does not have access to the Internet). A gift finder component may also accompany the item list in the case where the family member or friend does not wish to purchase any of the items on the item list. The gift finder component employs attributes about the owner of the item list to search and display item's that may be of interest to the user for purchasing by the family member or friend. In another aspect of the invention, a remote site utilizes the infrastructure of the item list system associated with the shopping portal.

0027<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates components associated with an electronic item list system <b>12</b> being employed at a shopping portal system <b>10</b>. The item list system <b>12</b> includes a database system <b>14</b>. The database system <b>14</b> includes a merchants database <b>16</b> for storing a number of different merchant names, a manufacturers database <b>18</b> for storing a number of manufacturer names, an offers database <b>20</b> for storing a number of offers for items offered by the merchants and a products database <b>22</b> for a storing a number of different products that are made by manufacturers. A categories database <b>24</b> is provided for storing a variety of item categories. The categories database <b>24</b> is illustrated as linked to the offers database <b>20</b> and the products database <b>22</b>. Alternatively, the link from the offers database <b>20</b> can be a link to the products database <b>22</b>, which is an indirect link to the categories database <b>24</b>. If a category is requested by a user, a search through the offers database <b>20</b> and products database <b>22</b> will be executed based on particular query parameters being employed by a link to return offer and product results. An item list database <b>26</b> is provided for saving data associated with one or more item lists. A user attribute database <b>28</b> is linked to the item list database by at least one item list identification number or the like and stores data associated with attributes of the user. In one aspect of the invention, the user attribute database <b>28</b> can include user preferences for recommending additional items of interest of the user not in the user's item list that is or was sent to others (e.g., friends and family members).

0028A user interface <b>40</b>, such as an Internet browser, may receive a HTML page <b>38</b> when visiting the site of the shopping portal system <b>10</b>. The HTML page <b>38</b> includes a number of images and/or links related to product offers, merchant information, product description information and the like. The images and/or links are coupled to functional components residing on the item list system <b>12</b>. For example, the functional components can be a variety of ASPS, script components or executable components residing at the item list system <b>12</b>. Additionally, script code can reside in the HTML page itself and be passed to an interpreter and/or functional components residing on the item list system <b>12</b>.

0029A plurality of links from the HTML page <b>38</b> is provided to an interface component <b>30</b> for providing a variety of functions to the shopping portal system <b>10</b> and the item list system <b>12</b>. For example, the interface component <b>30</b> can add offers to the item list database <b>26</b>. Furthermore, the interface component <b>30</b> provides the functionality necessary to display the contents of the item list database <b>26</b>. Upon receiving an instruction from the user to display the contents of the item list database <b>26</b>, the interface component <b>30</b> retrieves information from the item list database <b>26</b> and uses this information as keys into the various databases. The interface component <b>30</b> then searches through at least one of the plurality of databases, merchants <b>16</b>, manufacturers <b>18</b>, offers <b>20</b>, products <b>22</b> and categories <b>24</b>, and extracts the necessary data for displaying the contents of the item list database <b>26</b>. The extraction process joins as much data as possible from the databases at render time.

0030If an item has been removed from the merchant, manufacturer, offer, product and category databases that is in the user's item list (e.g., item list database <b>26</b>), the interface component <b>30</b> is operable to proceed though a series of steps to degrade the data gracefully, such that the best available information within the databases is always provided to the user. For example, if an offer is not available any longer that is in a user's item list, the interface component <b>30</b> may then provide the user with a link to the merchant's site or other items that may be similar to the listed item, such as items in a related product class or items in a related product category. If the merchant is not available any longer or the merchant no longer carries the item, the interface component <b>30</b> may then provide alternative merchants that may sell the item. The interface component <b>30</b> is further operable to provide additional information for the shopping portal <b>10</b> during invocations of links to the interface component, such as displaying products and/or offers from requested categories, providing manufacturers for a requested product and merchants for a given manufacturer.

0031The item list system <b>12</b> further comprises a “local add custom input” component <b>32</b> for adding custom information to the user's item list. The “local add custom input” component <b>32</b> allows a user to add an item to the user's item list that does not reside in any of the databases (e.g., merchants <b>16</b>, manufacturers <b>18</b>, offers <b>20</b>, products <b>22</b> or categories <b>24</b>) in the database system <b>14</b>. A “remote add input” component <b>34</b> is provided to allow a user to add items from merchants at remote sites. The items may be unstructured when the item does not reside or conform to any records in any of the databases (e.g., merchants <b>16</b>, manufacturers <b>18</b>, offers <b>20</b>, products <b>22</b> or categories <b>24</b>) in the database system <b>14</b>. Alternatively, the item may be described in terms of structured fields similar to items residing in the databases (e.g., merchants <b>16</b>, manufacturers <b>18</b>, offers <b>20</b>, products <b>22</b> or categories <b>24</b>) in the database system <b>14</b> or the description may be provided with a link for adding items already residing in one of the databases (e.g., merchants <b>16</b>, manufacturers <b>18</b>, offers <b>20</b>, products <b>22</b> or categories <b>24</b>). The remote site merchants can provide a link at the respective merchant site to the “remote add input” component <b>34</b>. The link can provide unstructured information about the item such as manufacturer, description, price and a URL from which to purchase the information. The “remote add input” component <b>34</b> receives the unstructured information from the remote site and adds it to the item list database <b>26</b> in much the same manner as the “local add custom input” <b>32</b>.

0032The item list system <b>12</b> is also provided with a gift finder component <b>36</b>. A link to the gift finder component <b>36</b> may be provided or combined with an item list sent to family or friends of the owner of the item list. The receiver of the item list may then employ the gift finder component <b>36</b> to select a gift for the owner of the item list based on the owner's attributes instead of selecting an item from the owner's item list. The gift finder component <b>36</b> is operable to search the user database <b>28</b> containing attributes of the user. The gift finder component <b>36</b> then employs these attributes to search the other databases similarly to the interface component <b>30</b> to find products, offers, categories, manufacturers and merchants for items that may be of interest to the user based on the user's attributes. Alternatively, attributes of the user may be entered into an input form. The gift finder component <b>36</b> can then employ the entered attributes to search products, offers, categories, manufacturers and merchants for items that may be of interest to the user.

0033An example of a possible environment <b>50</b> for the shopping portal <b>10</b> and item list system <b>12</b> is illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. The environment <b>50</b> includes a local computer <b>52</b> having a display <b>54</b> and a user input device <b>56</b> through which an individual may interact with the local computer <b>52</b>. The user input device <b>56</b>, for example, may include a keyboard, a pointer device (e.g., a mouse), a voice activated control device, a wireless input device, and/or other equipment or peripherals through which a user may interact with programs running on the local computer <b>52</b>.

0034The local computer <b>52</b> is operatively coupled to a network <b>64</b>, such as an Internet, an intranet, or another computer network. The local computer <b>52</b> is connected to the network <b>64</b>, for example, over a telephone line <b>60</b> via a modem <b>58</b>. Alternatively, the local computer <b>52</b> may be connected to the network <b>64</b> through another connection <b>62</b>, such as an integrated services digital network (ISDN), T1, DS1 or other high speed telecommunications connections and an appropriate connection device, a television cable and modem, a satellite link, an optical fiber link, an Ethernet or other local area network technology wire and adapter card, radio or optical transmission devices, etc. It is to be appreciated that the invention also may be implemented in a browser environment for other public and private computer networks, such as a computer network of a commercial on-line service or an internal corporate local area network (LAN), an Intranet, or like computer network.

0035The local computer <b>52</b> runs software, including a browser <b>80</b>, for unified browsing of electronic documents and other data from local sources as well as from the computer network <b>64</b>. Specifically, documents for browsing with the browser software may reside as files of a file system stored in appropriate storage devices at the local computer <b>52</b> or reside at resources at a remote computer <b>70</b>. The remote computer <b>70</b> is operatively coupled to the network <b>64</b> via connection <b>66</b>, which may be in the form of a telecommunications connection and appropriate device or any other communications link (including wired and wireless) to the network. By way of example, the remote computer <b>70</b> is an Internet-based server connected to the computer network <b>64</b> to provide one or more World Wide Web (“Web”) sites to which the local computer <b>52</b> may connect.

0036By way of example, a document <b>72</b> resides at the remote computer <b>70</b> that conforms to HTML standards, and may include extensions and enhancements of HTML standards, such as Dynamic HTML (DHTML). It is to be appreciated that the browser software running at the local computer <b>52</b> may be capable of browsing documents having other data formats from the local computer or the remote computer <b>52</b>. In addition, the illustrated document <b>52</b> may incorporate other information content, such as graphical images, audio, video, executable programs, etc. In conformance with DHTML standards, each feature of information content on the page <b>72</b> (e.g., each word and each image) may be considered an object or element selectable by the user of the local computer <b>52</b>, such as by employing the user input device <b>46</b> when connected to the Web page associated with the documents <b>72</b>. The elements and information content of the document <b>72</b> are stored in a file system at the remote computer <b>70</b>. The document at the remote computer <b>70</b> incorporates the information using HTML tags and uniform resource locators (URLs) that specify the location of files or other Internet resources containing the images on the network <b>64</b>.

0037The browser software running locally on the local computer <b>52</b> displays the HTML document <b>72</b> in a window <b>82</b> or area of the local computer's display <b>54</b> allocated to the browser by the operating system. The window <b>82</b> includes a document display area <b>86</b> and user interface controls (not shown). The browser displays a representation of the document <b>72</b> within the document display area <b>86</b> of the window <b>82</b>, although other display types also may be used. The displayed document may include text and/or images corresponding to the document <b>72</b>.

0038In the example shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, the display area <b>86</b> includes a display of a shopping portal web page. The shopping portal web page includes page elements such as item offer elements <b>86</b> having descriptions and images of the item being offered, a plurality of category elements <b>84</b>, a gift finder element <b>85</b>, an add to list instruction elements <b>87</b>, and an add custom item to list instruction element <b>89</b>. The page elements have associated parameters and associated links to ASP pages <b>74</b> located at the remote computer <b>70</b>. The ASP page <b>74</b> includes server-side scripting for processing the data received from the local computer <b>52</b> and sending to the local computer <b>52</b> an appropriate response based on the received data. The remote computer <b>70</b> includes one or more searchable databases <b>76</b> that contain, for example, records of items, manufacturers of items, merchant of items, offers of items and categories of items. It is to be appreciated that any searchable database structure may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

0039The ASP pages <b>74</b> have an associated script for performing the various functions of the shopping portal system <b>10</b> and item list system <b>12</b> described in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. The associated script can perform the appropriate database extraction or query from the one or more databases <b>76</b> and display a new page with results of the extraction or query. By way of example, functions may be invoked by action from the user input device <b>56</b>, such as a pointer device (e.g., at a mouse-up event) or a keyboard (e.g., based on predefined keystrokes). While in this particular example the data is submitted to an ASP page, it is to be appreciated that any other type of server component may be programmed and/or configured to receive data from the client and communicate the received data with a database on the server (e.g., a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) page can do this).

0040It is to be appreciated that the shopping portal web page of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> illustrates only one possible example of utilizing aspects of the present invention. For example, although the present example illustrates a single add custom item to list instruction element <b>89</b> associated with a single item list, a plurality of add to custom item list instruction elements <b>89</b> may be provided with each add to custom item list instruction associated with a corresponding item list. Furthermore, each item list may have an associated list management system. The list management system may provide functions such as delete item, add custom element, print item list, create new item list and delete current item list. Additionally, the add to list instructions <b>87</b> are not limited to an associating with strictly offers, but may also be associated with categories of items, manufacturers of items and the items themselves.

0041<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> illustrates an example of an input screen <b>90</b> that may be provided upon invocation of the “local add custom input” component <b>32</b>. The input screen <b>90</b> includes a description field <b>92</b> for providing unstructured data to the item list database <b>26</b> in the form of a textual description (e.g., a name of a product or a description of a product). The input screen <b>90</b> also includes fields for structure data such as merchant name <b>94</b>, price <b>96</b> and a URL <b>98</b>. After the data is entered into the fields by a user input device, such as a keyboard, the user may add the custom element to the item list database <b>26</b> by clicking on the “OK” button <b>102</b>, for example, by employing a computer pointer, such as a mouse. The user may click on the “cancel” button <b>100</b> to close the input screen <b>90</b> without adding a custom element to the item list database <b>26</b>. A custom element may also be added to the item list database <b>26</b> at a remote merchant site.

0042<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> illustrates a methodology employed for adding remote items from a remote merchant site <b>104</b> to the item list database <b>26</b>. The remove merchant site <b>104</b> may be provided with one or more links to the item list system <b>12</b> for unstructured item data or descriptions <b>107</b> (e.g., custom elements), one or more links to the item list system <b>12</b> for structured item data or descriptions <b>108</b> (e.g., data conforming to the structure of the databases in the item list system) and one or more links to the item list systems for items already residing in data bases <b>109</b> of the item list system <b>12</b>. The links <b>107</b>, <b>108</b> and <b>109</b> reference or call the “add remote input” component <b>34</b> of the item list system <b>12</b> and the web site of the shopping portal <b>10</b>. The links <b>107</b> and <b>108</b> pass input fields to the “add remote input” component <b>34</b>, which adds the entry to the item list database <b>26</b>.

0043<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> illustrates an example of an entry of a custom element from a remote merchant site as experienced by a user employing the browser <b>80</b>. A user visits a merchant site through the browser <b>80</b> providing a view of the merchant site in the display <b>82</b>. The site includes elements similar to the elements illustrated on the shopping portal page of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. The merchant web site includes page elements such as item offer elements having descriptions and images of the item being offered and “add to list” instruction elements. In the present example, a first page element <b>110</b> is provide that includes a CD player image with an associated description and price offer and a second page element <b>114</b> that includes a DVD player image with an associated description and price offer. A first instruction page element labeled “ADD TO ITEM LIST” is provided under the first page element <b>110</b> and a second instruction page element “ADD TO ITEM LIST” is provided under the second page element <b>114</b>. The first instruction page element is associated with a first code portion <b>112</b> and the second instruction page element is associates with a second code portion <b>116</b>. In the present example, the first and second code portions <b>112</b> and <b>116</b> include links to a script (e.g., an ASP script authored with Microsoft IIS) on the shopping portal site and a set of attributes or fields associated with the displayed product offer, such as merchant name, product description, price and URL where the product description can be found. A selection of an item from the merchant site to add to the user's item list invokes the code associated with that item. The invocation of the code causes a link to be provided to the appropriate ASP page residing at the shopping portal. The ASP page then executes and adds the item to the item list database <b>26</b>. It is to be appreciated that the example of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is merely for illustrative purposes and actual implementation would be apparent to those skilled in the art.

0044It is to be appreciated that the present system provide for storing and displaying an item list with both structured data and unstructured data concurrently. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> illustrates an example of records of items residing in the item list database <b>26</b>. In the present example, a plurality of record fields are provided for holding information relating to a product offer. The record fields include a structured portion and an unstructured portion. The structure portion includes the following fields: MERCHANT ID, MANUFACTURER ID, PRODUCT ID MERCHANT MODEL (e.g., sku number of product offer from merchant), CATEGORY ID, PRICE AND URL. The unstructured data includes a text description and a merchant name, which may be provided by a user employing the “local add custom input” component or the “remote add custom input” component. It is to be appreciated that the above fields are an example of fields that may be employed for records in the item list database <b>26</b> and any number of fields structured and unstructured may be employed to carry out the present invention.

0045<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> illustrates an example of a result report <b>130</b> that may be generated in a response to a request to view a user's item list corresponding to records in the item list database <b>26</b>, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref>. The result report <b>130</b> includes an item field, a description field, a price field and a category field for each record. As can be seen from the result report <b>130</b>, both structured data and unstructured data are provided in the description field such that items available and not available at the shopping portal system <b>10</b> can be retained and viewed within a single item list. For example, the first two records contain structured data with corresponding entries in other databases (e.g., merchants <b>16</b>, manufacturers <b>18</b>, offers <b>20</b>, products <b>22</b> or categories <b>24</b>) on the shopping portal <b>10</b>. A “buy” selection button <b>132</b> is provided to provide a link for the user to buy the item by selecting one of the items having structured data with a computer pointer and clicking on the “buy” selection button <b>132</b>. The third record was added by the “remote add input” component <b>34</b> and includes a description field <b>132</b> with the text description “WIRELESS HEADPHONES” that is unstructured data and the URL “www.xyz.com.prod”, which is structured data. The fourth record was added by the “local add custom input” component <b>32</b> and includes a description field <b>134</b> with the text description “SKIS AND SKIBOOTS” which is unstructured data. Therefore, structure and unstructured data is integrated into the item list for both different independent records and within the same independent records. Any unavailable fields are returned as nulls and not reported.

0046It is to be appreciated that links can be provided to structured data. For example, a user can click on the item name and be provided with another page having additional information with respect to the item at the merchant's site and for purchasing the item for items <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref>. A user can click on the URL of the merchant and be transferred to the merchant's site for any or all of the items illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref>. Furthermore, the user can click on the category text and be transferred to a plurality of products for that category. If the offer is no longer available for an item, the interface component will gracefully degrade the record and provide the best available information, such as the URL of the merchant and the category of the offer.

0047In another aspect of the invention, the infrastructure of the item list system <b>12</b> is utilized by a remote merchant site, such that the item list system appears to be residing at the remote merchant site and the fact that it resides at the shopping portal system <b>10</b> is transparent to the user. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> illustrates one particular system and methodology of carrying out this aspect of the invention. A remote merchant site <b>160</b> is provided with a plurality of merchant products and links <b>162</b>. The remote merchant site <b>160</b> links to the shopping portal site <b>10</b> over an Internet connection <b>145</b> or the like. The item list at the shopping portal system <b>10</b> contains a database of items <b>140</b>, with each item in the database containing a field indicating the merchant of the item. The remote merchant site <b>160</b> requests the shopping portal <b>10</b> to display a list of items, and the shopping portal <b>10</b> filters the list displaying only items from the merchant. Therefore, only merchant products can be added to the user's item list at the merchant's site, such that it appears that the item list resides on the merchant's site and is part of a merchant's item list system. The display of items can be displayed with the look and feel of the shopping portal, or can contain only merchant branding making it appear to the user that the page is being served by the merchant. A domain name service (DNS) component <b>150</b> could also be employed to allow the URL in the browser to appear as if the URL was pointing to an entry at the merchant. In view of the structure described above with respect to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1-8</figref>, a methodology for providing the particular aspects of the invention may be better appreciated with respect to the flow diagrams of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 9-11</figref>. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 9-11</figref> are shown and described as a series of steps, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the order of steps, as some steps may, in accordance with the present invention, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other steps from that shown and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated steps may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with an aspect the present invention.

0048<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> illustrates a methodology for graceful degradation of data referenced in an electronic item list and residing in one or more databases. The method of degradation provides the best available data to the user when previously available data has been removed from the databases. At step <b>200</b>, the interface component <b>30</b> receives a request for displaying data referenced on the item list of the user. The interface component queries one or more databases to get the items referenced in the database at step <b>210</b>. At step <b>220</b>, the interface component determines for each item of N items in the item list database <b>26</b>, if the data returned from the one or more databases has a valid merchant ID and a valid merchant model ID. If the data does contain a valid merchant ID (e.g., either null or no corresponding entry in the merchant database) and a valid merchant model ID (YES), the interface component <b>30</b> will display the offer of the product with the merchant name and web site for purchase of the item. If the data does not contain a valid merchant ID and a valid merchant model ID, the interface component <b>30</b> will proceed to step <b>230</b>. At step <b>230</b>, the interface component <b>30</b> determines if the data returned from the one or more databases has a valid product ID. If the data does contain a valid product ID (YES), the interface component <b>30</b> will display the particular product with links to merchants for buying the particular product. If the data does not contain a valid product ID, the interface component <b>30</b> will proceed to step <b>240</b>. At step <b>240</b>, the interface component <b>30</b> determines if the data returned from the one or more databases has a valid product class ID. If the data does contain a valid product class ID (YES), the interface component <b>30</b> will display the product class or category with links to merchants for buying these types of product class or categories. If the data does not contain a valid product class ID (NO), the interface component <b>30</b> proceeds to step <b>250</b> where nothing is displayed.

0049<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> illustrates a methodology for utilizing the gift finder component <b>36</b>. At step <b>280</b>, a user sends an item list with a link to the gift finder component <b>36</b> to at least one entity. At step <b>290</b>, the entity determines that the entity does not want to purchase any of the items on the user's wish list, so the entity invokes the link to the gift finder component <b>36</b>. At step <b>300</b>, the gift finder component <b>36</b> queries the user database <b>28</b> for user attributes. At step <b>310</b>, the gift finder component <b>36</b> queries at least one of the offers database <b>20</b>, products database <b>22</b>, merchants database <b>16</b>,manufacturers database <b>18</b> and categories database <b>24</b> for gift items using the user attributes. At step <b>320</b>, the gift finder component <b>36</b> transmits and displays potential gift items that may be of interest to the user to the entity including offers for items to purchase.

0050<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> illustrates an example of a methodology that a user can follow for adding items to an item list. At step <b>350</b>, the user creates a new item list. At step <b>310</b>, the user determines if the desired product or offer resides on the shopping portal. If the product or offer does reside on the shopping portal (YES), the user proceeds to step <b>365</b> and adds the product or offer to the item list. For example, the shopping portal <b>10</b> can have a simple link that adds items to the list. References to the fields of structured data associated with the item are then added to the item list database <b>26</b>. If the product or offer does not reside on the shopping portal (NO), the user proceeds to step <b>370</b> to determine if the product or offer resides on a remote site employing a link to the shopping portal. If the product or offer resides on a remote site employing a link to the shopping portal (YES), the user proceeds to step <b>375</b> and adds the product or offer to the item list. The structured data and/or unstructured data associated with the item is then added to one or more databases in the item list database system <b>14</b> and references to the fields of the data is then added to the item list database <b>26</b>. If the product or offer does not reside on a remote site employing a link to the shopping portal (NO), the user proceeds to step <b>380</b> and adds a custom element to the item list. The structured and/or unstructured data of the custom element is then added to one or more databases of the item list system and references to fields of the custom element are added to the item list database <b>26</b>. The user can then view the item list employing the interface component <b>30</b>. The interface component <b>30</b> uses the references in the item list database <b>26</b> to retrieve the results from the one or more databases in the item list system and then the interface component integrates the structured and non-structured data of the results prior to displaying. Alternatively, the user can send a copy of the item list to a third party.

0051With reference to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref>, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a conventional personal or server computer <b>420</b>, including a processing unit <b>421</b>, a system memory <b>422</b>, and a system bus <b>423</b> that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit <b>421</b>. The processing unit may be any of various commercially available processors, including Intel x86, Pentium and compatible microprocessors from Intel and others, including Cyrix, AMD and Nexgen; Alpha from Digital; MIPS from MIPS Technology, NEC, IDT, Siemens, and others; and the PowerPC from IBM and Motorola. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures also can be used as the processing unit <b>421</b>.

0052The system bus may be any of several types of bus structure including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of conventional bus architectures such as PCI, VESA, Microchannel, ISA and EISA, to name a few. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM) <b>424</b> and random access memory (RAM) <b>425</b>. A basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer <b>420</b>, such as during start-up, is stored in ROM <b>424</b>.

0053The computer <b>420</b> further includes a hard disk drive <b>427</b>, a magnetic disk drive <b>428</b>, e.g., to read from or write to a removable disk <b>429</b>, and an optical disk drive <b>430</b>, e.g., for reading a CD-ROM disk <b>431</b> or to read from or write to other optical media. The hard disk drive <b>427</b>, magnetic disk drive <b>428</b>, and optical disk drive <b>430</b> are connected to the system bus <b>423</b> by a hard disk drive interface <b>432</b>, a magnetic disk drive interface <b>433</b>, and an optical drive interface <b>434</b>, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. for the server computer <b>420</b>. Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk and a CD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media which are readable by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.

0054A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM <b>425</b>, including an operating system <b>435</b>, one or more application programs <b>436</b>, other program modules <b>437</b>, and program data <b>438</b>. The operating system <b>435</b> in the illustrated computer can be Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system, together with the before mentioned Microsoft Transaction Server, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows 2000.

0055A user may enter commands and information into the computer <b>420</b> through a keyboard <b>440</b> and pointing device, such as a mouse <b>442</b>. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit <b>421</b> through a serial port interface <b>446</b> that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor <b>447</b> or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus <b>423</b> via an interface, such as a video adapter <b>448</b>. In addition to the monitor, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.

0056The computer <b>420</b> may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote server or client computer <b>449</b>. The remote computer <b>449</b> may be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer <b>420</b>, although only a memory storage device <b>450</b> has been illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref>. The logical connections depicted in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> include a local area network (LAN) <b>451</b> and a wide area network (WAN) <b>452</b>. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

0057When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer <b>420</b> is connected to the local network <b>451</b> through a network interface or adapter <b>453</b>. When used in a WAN networking environment, the server computer <b>420</b> typically includes a modem <b>454</b>, or is connected to a communications server on the LAN, or has other means for establishing communications over the wide area network <b>452</b>, such as the Internet. The modem <b>454</b>, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus <b>423</b> via the serial port interface <b>446</b>. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer <b>420</b>, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

0058In accordance with practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming, the present invention is described below with reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations that are performed by the computer <b>420</b>, unless indicated otherwise. Such acts and operations are sometimes referred to as being computer-executed. It will be appreciated that the acts and symbolically represented operations include the manipulation by the processing unit <b>421</b> of electrical signals representing data bits which causes a resulting transformation or reduction of the electrical signal representation, and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations in the memory system (including the system memory <b>422</b>, hard drive <b>427</b>, floppy disks <b>429</b>, and CD-ROM <b>431</b>) to thereby reconfigure or otherwise alter the computer system's operation, as well as other processing of signals. The memory locations where data bits are maintained are physical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, or optical properties corresponding to the data bits.

0059The present invention has been illustrated with respect to a programming methodology and/or computer architecture and a particular example, however, it is to be appreciated that various programming methodology and/or computer architecture suitable for carrying out the present invention may be employed and are intended to fall within the scope of the hereto appended claims.

0060The invention has been described with reference to the preferred aspects of the invention. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the foregone detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications alterations, and equivalents thereof.