CA2109899C

CA2109899C - Multi-media integrated message arrangement

Info

Publication number: CA2109899C
Application number: CA002109899A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Robert Michael Klein
Original assignee: American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1993-03-10
Filing date: 1993-11-24
Publication date: 1997-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 2013-11-24
Also published as: JP3281713B2; JPH0723057A; US5479411A; CA2109899A1; EP0615368A3; EP0615368A2

Abstract

Voice, facsimile, and electronic mail messaging is integrated in a system (FIG. 1) that converts e-mail messages into voice-and-fax messages. An e-mail message (400) is parsed into voiceable, prose, segments (403) and non-voiceable,non-prose, segments (404). Prose segments are converted into voice message segments (503) via text-to-speech facilities. Each non-prose segment is converted into a fax segment (504). Voice pointers (505) to fax segments are inserted into the voice message, in places corresponding to the non-prose segments in the e-mail message. The voice file (500) and fax file (510) are then stored for subsequent delivery of the message as an integrated voice-and-fax message. Conversion of integrated voice-and-fax messages into e-mail messages is likewise envisioned.

Description

1- 210989~3 MULTI-ME~IA INTEGRATED MESSAGE ARRANGEMENT
Techntcal Fleld This imcntion relatcs generally to intcgratcd messagc systems, and spccifically to voice-and-fax message systems and clectronic mail systems.
S Back~round of the InYention Muld-media mcss~gir,g involves integrating discre~e messages or individual messagc components of different media, c.g., Yoice, text, video, and thc ability to deliver thc integrated messages through a single universal mailbox.
The in~egration of voice and facsimile (fax) messages is well known in 10 the art. For example, U.S~ Patent No. 5,008,926, discloses an integrated voicc-and-facsimile s~ore-and-forward message system that provides for the scnding, storagc, and delivery of voice rnessages, fax messages, fax messages annotated with voicemessages, and voice messages annotated with fax messages. The disclosed system additionally provides for display of fax messages on terminal screens, and the 15 conversion of fax printed text messages into voice messages Yia text-to-speech conversion facilities.
Electronic mail, or e-mail, systems are also well known in the art. They provide for the sending, storagc, and delivery between computer terminals of displayable data --text and/or graphics-- messages.
Integration of e-mail systems with voice-and-fax message systems is highly desirable. For example, it is becoming common for salesmen to work out of"mobile of ficcs" --their cars-- which are ~quipped normally with telephones, often with fax machines, but generally not ~ilh data terminals, yet the salesmen would1ike to have the capability of receiving in their mobile offices messages sent to them 25 in any form --voice, fax, or e-mail. The integradon of fax and e-rnail rness~ging is readily accomplished through conversion of e-mail messages into fax messages fordelivery to their recipients. But while fax machines are more likely to be available to mobile recipients of the messages than data terminals, they are not as readily available as telephones. Therefore, it is often preferable to instead ac c clmplish the 30 integradon of voice and c-ma;l messaging through conversion of e-mail messages into voice messages for delivery to their recipients. This type of conversion is also readily accomplished if the c-mail messages constitute text only.
A problem arises, however, when e-mail messages constitute inforna~ion other than text --such as diagrams, charts, special symbols, co~l)puter 35 code fragments, pictures, etc.-- which is not suitable for conversion into a voicc message. Attempts to convert such data message segments into spcech result in uninte11igible gar~lc. This may bc avoided by simply identifying and discarding thc - 2 - 21~989g non-voiceablc da~a mcssagc scgmcnts, but this results in the deUvcly of an incomplctc mcssagc to the r~p;cnt --an unacceptablc result.
Summary of the Inven~ion This invention is direc~ed to solving these and othcr problcms and S disadvantages of the prior art. Generally according to thc invention, data mcssaging, such as e-mail messaging, is integrated with audio-and-imagc messaging, such as voicc-and-fax messaging, by converting voiceable segments of a data mcssagc intovoice messagc segments, converting non-voiceable segments of the data mcssagc into imagc messagc segments, and subsdtuting in the voicc mcssagc voiccd pointers 10 to the image message segments in place of the non-voiceable segments.
Altematively, the transformation of the message from one media to another may bcdone in the reverse direction.
According to specific principles of the invention, segments of infonnation (for example, of a received message) represented in a first medium (for 15 example, e-rnail) which can be represented in a second med~um (for example, voice) are identified, representadon of the identified segments is convert~d from the first medium into the second medium, representation of other segments of the obtained information is converted from the first medium into a third medium (for exarnple, fax) and then pointers represented in the second medium and pointing to thc 20 segments represented in the third medium are interspersed among the segments represented in the second medium. The information represented in the second and thW media may then be substituted for the information repre*ented in the first mediurn.
The conversion of the information from one set of media to another 2S allows the informadon to be delivered and presented to a user in a form selected by, and most suitable to, the user. Yct, the muld-media form of the message ensures that none of the informational content of the rnessage need be discarded during thc conversion process. ~hus, for example, a traveling sales reprcsentadve is able to receive the voice poltion of thc converted e-mail message on his or her mobilc 30 telephone and decide from the contents of the voice portion whether to go to thc effort of pr;nting the ~soci~te~l fax component of the messagc. If the recipientdecides to receive the entire message, he or she is able to receive the entire e-mail message as an integrated voice-and-fax message on his or her mobile telephone and fax without loss of any of the information carried by the e-mail message.
35 Funhermore, the pointers used in the muld-media message to point from onc medium to the other ensure that the recipient can folIow the logical flow of thcoriginal message in the multi-media message, and can receivc all thc infvrn);llion 3 F. 2 1 0 g 8 ~ g contained in the original message in the proper order.
Preferably, header information of a received e-mail message is converted for delivery to a recipient into a voice header. This allows the recipient to examine and browse through headers of integrated voice-and-fax messages in the same manner as he or she does with headers of conventional voice messages. Further preferably, certain white-space segments of the e-mail message which carry no user information, are discarded during the conversion process. This increases the efficiency and compactness of the resulting integrated voice-and-fax message.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of media conversion, comprising the steps of: identifying segments of textual information in a message comprising a sequence of segments of information represented in a first visually presentable form, which identified segments can be represented in an auditorily presentable form; converting representation of the identified segments from the first visually presentable form into the auditorily presentable form; converting representation of other segments of the sequence of segments of information of said message from the first visually presentable form into a second visually presentable form; interspersing pointers, represented in the auditorily presentable form and pointing to the segments represented in the second visually presentable form, among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding segment represented is the second visually presentable form takes a place of said corresponding segment in said sequence among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form; and collectively presenting the segments represented in the second visually presentable form and the sequence of the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form with interspersed said pointers represented in the auditorily presentable form as a multi-media message to a user.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a media-conversion arrangement comprising: means for identifying segments of textual information in a message comprising a sequence of segments of information represented in a first visually presentable form which identified segments can be represented in an auditorily presentable form; processor means for converting representation of the identified segments from the first visually presentable form into the auditorily presentable form; processor means for converting representation of other segments of the sequence of segments of information of the message from the first visually presentable form into a second visually presentable form; means for interspersing pointers, represented in the auditorily presentable form and pointing to the segments represented in the second visually presentable form, ~2,0g8g ~
-3a-among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding segment represented in the second visually presentable form takes a place of said corresponding segment in said sequence among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form; and means for collectively presenting the segments represented in the second visually presentable form and the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form with interspersed said pointers represented in the auditorily presentable form as a multi-media message to a user.
These and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention considered together with the drawing.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-media integrated message system embodying an illustrative example of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of message storing and delivery functions of an integrated voice-and-facsimile store-and-forward system of the multi-media integrated message system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an e-mail message to integrated voice-and-facsimile message conversion function of an e-mail system of the multi-media integrated message system of FIG. l; and FIG. 4 is a symbolic representation of the e-mail message to integrated voice-and-facsimile message conversion performed by the function of FIG. 3.
Detailed Description FIG. 1 shows an illustrative telecommunications system. It comprises telephone terminals 29 and fax terminals 30 connected by a private branch exchange switch (PBX) 24 to a message system 1000. Message system 1000 stores voice and fax messages in a mass storage 12, such as a disk, operating under control of a controller 10. Terminals 29 and 30 access message system 1000 through PBX 24 over phone lines 1004 and a voice/data interface 34 that interfaces phone lines 1004 to the internal circuits and functions of message system 1000, to store the messages in system 1000 and to retrieve the messages from system 1000. Message system 1000 is illustratively the AT&T Ovation multimedia communication system, or an AT&T voice-mail system of the type disclosed in the application of G.R. Brunson and R.D. Reeder entitled "Adjunct Processor Embedded in a Switching System", Canadian Application No. 2,083,859, filed November 26, 1992, or in the application of G.R. Brunson entitled "Modular Adjunct Processor", Canadian Application No. 2,096,988, filed May 26, 1993, both of which are assigned to the same assignee as 9 ~

this applica~ion, which systems arc further adap~ed to s~orc both voicc and fax mcssagcs, Al~erna~vcly, portion 1 of thc system of ~IO. 1 which includcs tcrminals 29 and 30, PBX 24, and messagc sys~em 1000, is illustratively thc integra~ed voicc-and-facsirrule storc-and-forward system discloscd In U.S.
S Patent No. 5,008,926.
Whilc thc operation of messagc system 1000 is described in thc abovc-referenced pa~ent, a brief overview of its functionality relevant here~o is presen~cd here and in ~IG. 2 for completeness of description. As rnentioned abovc, messagcsystem lO00 opera~es under the guidance of a control 10. Control 10 is illustratively 10 a general-purpose processor operating under control of programs 1006 stored in its memory E~xecution of programs 1006 implernents the store-and-forward messaging functionality flowcharted in FIG. 2.
In response to receipt of a call, at step 200 of FIG. 2, control 10 dctermines from caller input whe~her or not this is a message storage request, at 15 step 202. If so, control 10 identifies from the caller's input the c~lerln essage sender and the intended message recipient, at step 204, and the message medium or media, at step 206. In this example, the media may be voice, fax, or voice-plus-fax, though other media, such as video, may also be allowed. Control 10 then forms a messagcheader that includes inforrnation such as the sender's identification, date and time of 20 receip~ of the message, etc., and se~s media I.l:). flags in the header to indicate thc identified message rnedia, at step 208. Control 10 then receives the segment, if any, of the message which is in the Yoice medium, a~ step 210, stores the received segment in a file in mass storage 12, at step 212, and sets a voice fi~e pointer in thc message header to point to the stored file, at step 214. Control 10 perforrns the samc 25 functions for the segment, if any, of the message which is in the fax medium, at steps 214-220. Control 10 then stores the header in the intended message recipient's universal mailbox in mass storage 12, at step 222, and returns to step 202 to deterrnine if the caller has further requests.
If the caller's request is not to store a messagc, as determined at 30 step 202, control 10 deterrnines from the caller's input whether this is a message retrieval request, at step 230. If not, control 10 continues its operation with other conventional operations, not relevant hereto, at s~ep 250. ~f so, control 10 identifies the caller, at step 232, and then retrieves stored rnessage headers from the caller's universal mailbox and sends them to the caller, at step 234. Control 10 then 35 determines &om thc callcr's further input whether thc caller has sclccted a messagc for retrieval, at step 236. If not, control lO returns to step 202; if so, control 10 cxamines thc mcdia l.D. flags of the hcader of thc sclcctcd mcss~gc to detcrrnlnc thc ,~. .i~, - 5 _ 2109899 message's mcdia, at stcp 238. Contro~ 10 then rctrievcs the message segmcnts that arc in thc identificd mcdia using thc file polntcrs of thc mcssagc headcr, and scnds the message segments to thc caller, at steps 240-242. Control 10 then rcturns tostcp 202.
S As shown in FlG. 1, message system 1000 is connccted by a local arca network (LAN) 1001 to an elcctronic mail (c-mail) network 1003. LAN 1001 is interfaced to thc intcmal clrcuits and functions of message system 1000 by a LANinlerface 84, in a conventional manner such as is disclosed in the above-referenced patent no. 5,008,926.
E-mail network 1003 is a conventional network, comprising a plurality of communicatively interconnected computers including the c-mail computcr 1002.
Compulcr 1002 couples da~a terminals 28 to network 1003, by means of which userscan send and retrieve e-mail messages in a conventional manner.
According to the invention, howeYer, an e-mail user who is also servcd I S by system portion 1 has the choice of receiving e-mail messages either in thc conventional manner, or as integrated voice-and/or-fax messages through portion 1.
The user's choice is programmed into the user's e-rnail profile stored by computer 1002. If the user has chosen to receive e-mail messages through portion 1, computer 1002 exarr~ines an e-mail message received for that user to detenninc 20 which segments thereof can be converted into a voice message via text-t~speech functions, and which segments thereof are not amenable tO this conversion. Thc convertible segments are convened into a voice message, and the nonconvenible segments are conver~ed into a fax message. Yoice references pointing to the fax message are inserted into the voice message in place of the nonconvenible segm~nts.
25 l~e voice and fax messages are then delivered to message system 1000 for storagc and subsequent delivery to the recipient in the convendonal integrated voice-and-fa~
messaging manner.
According to the invention, in order to integrate c-mail m~ssages into the integrated voice-and-facsimile store-and-forward system which forms pordon t, 30 computer 1002 executes programs 1005 store~ in its memory that implernent thc functionality flowcharted in ~IG. 3.
In response to receiving an e-mail message for a user served by it, at step 300 of FIG. 3, computer 1002 identifies the recipient in a convendonal manner, at step 302, and then examines ~he identified recipient's stored uscr profilc, at 35 step 304, to determine, at step 306, whether the user wishes ~o haYc c-mail messages delivered in the conventional manncr via terminal 28 or as integratcd ~oice-and-fal~
messages via phone and fax tcrminals 29 and 30 by way of mcssagc system 1000. If convcntional delivery is indicated, computcr 1002 procccds to handlc the r~celvcd messagc in thc convcntional c-mait manncr, at stcp 310.
If integrated voice-and-fax delivery is indicated, computcr 1002 parses ~he mcssagc, at s~ep 312, to separatc it into scgmcnts classificd by typc. 'Ibis l~
S illustra~ed by thc logical convcrsion diagram of ~IG. 4. An c-mail m~ssagc 400 is an ASC~I-format filc with a predefined header 401 followed by a scqucnGc of lines of ASCII characters Besides the header, the following typcs of segmcnt lines arc defined: whitespace 402, consisting of a blank line; prosc 403, consisdng of natural language or nun erals interspaced with standard punctuation; and non-prose 404, 10 which is anything elsc. Computer 1002 classifies cach linc of thc message into onc of the above four types. The header is identified by sentinels prcdefined for this particular e-mail system tc.g., DAl E:, FROM:, SUBJECT:). Whitespace 402 is identified by a lone ncwlinc ol linefeed charactcr. Prose 403 lines are identified by strings of ASCII charac~ers forming words, numbers, and conventional (natural-15 language) puncluation. Any lines not iden~ified as header 40l, whi~espace 402, orprose 403 are classified as non-prose 404. l~ese are, for examplc, lines containing graphics symbols, nons~andard characters (e.g., bar, angle bracket, ampersand, numerical signs, etc.), non-s~andard punctuation or s~andard punctuation used innon-standard manner (c.g., a sequence of colons or semicolons), a string that is a mix 20 of letters and numerals, etc.
Having classified each linc of the message according to type and thus separated the message into segments 401-4'~4, computer 1002 now interprets thc information of header segment 401 to c.e~te, via conventional text-to-speech technology, a voice message header 501 conveying that information, at s~ep 314 of 25 FIG. 3. Computer 1002 then converts prosc segments 403 into voice message segments 503, again using text-to-speech technology, at step 316. Computer 1002 ignores and discards whitespace segments 402 that are interspersed among prosc segments 403, at step 318. Computer 1002 also converts each non-prosc segment 404 into a fax se-gment 504 (such as a fax page), at step 319. Illustrativcly, 30 computer 1002 does this by first using the ASCII form of the non-prose ~gment to generate a PostScTipt 61e via a utility such as Nroff or Troff, and then converting thc PostScript file into standard G3 fax forrnat. Alternatively, thc conversion fromASCII to G3 fax bitmap is pclro~ ed direcdy. Computer 1002 retains, as part of thc fax, whitespace segments 402 that arc surrounded by non-prose scgments 4~)4.
Next, computer 1002 inserts into the voicc message, at the places that were occupicd in e-mail message 400 by thc non-prose segmcnts 404, voice pointers 505 to the appropriatc fax segrnents S04, at step 320. An examplc of a voicc poin~cr 50S is "Rcfcr lo attached documcnt scctlon xn. Computcr 1002 then sto-esthc voice messagc wi~h the voice poin~ers in~o a voice filc S00 in its mcmory, and stores lhc fax segments into a fax filc S10 in its memory, at s~cp 322. E-mail message 400 has now been converted tnto the format of integrated voice-and-fax S messages dcalt with by system 1000, and computer 1002 transfers the voicc filc 500 and fax filc S10 of the integrated voicc-and-fax message 600 over LAN 1001 to message sys~em 1000, at step 324, and cnds i~s operation, at s~ep 326. Illustratively, ~he transfer over LAN is perforrned by means of an applications prograrnmer interfacc (API) program communicating by means of a utility such as transfer 10 contJol protocol/lnternet protocol (IClP/rP) remote procedure call ~RPC) server func~ion in LAN interface 84. ContTollcr 10 of system 1000 treats L~N 1001 as a caller and stores the message 600 in the manner shown in ~IG. 2. Then, upon demand, controller 10 presents message 600 as an integrated voice-and-fax messagc to the recipient user, also in the manner shown in FIG. 2.
Of course, various changes and modifications to the illustrativc embodiment described above will be apparent to ~hose sk~led in the art. For examplc, the conversion of the c-mail rnessage into an integrated voice-and-fax messagc may be performed at the message originator's computer, in a central conversion host computer in thc c-mail system, or in message syslem 1000. Also, 20 the conversion need not be limited to voice and fax media, but may involve other media such as video. Furthermore, thc proccss may be revcrsed, whereby received intcgrated voice-and-fax messages are convcrted into c-mail messagcs for delivcry.
Furthcr still, features may be added to improYc the coherencc and app~arance of thc output. For cxamplc, scndnels may bc included in thc c-mail messagc to direct 25 which components of thc c-mail n essagc are to be converted to fax irrcspective of whether they are non-pose or prose components. Or, limits may be set on thc minimum Unc size of prosc segments that will be converted to voice format; smatler prose segments interspersed with non-prose segments wilt then bc convcrtect to fax.
Such changes and modifications can bc made without departing from the spirit and30 the scopc of the inventioa and wilhout diminishing its attend~nt advantagcs. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method of media conversion, comprising the steps of:
identifying segments of textual information in a message comprising a sequence of segments of information represented in a first visually presentable form, which identified segments can be represented in an auditorily presentable form;
converting representation of the identified segments from the first visually presentable form into the auditorily presentable form;
converting representation of other segments of the sequence of segments of information of said message from the first visually presentable form into a second visually presentable form;
interspersing pointers, represented in the auditorily presentable form and pointing to the segments represented in the second visually presentable form, among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding segment represented is the second visually presentable form takes a place of said corresponding segment in said sequence among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form; and collectively presenting the segments represented in the second visually presentable form and the sequence of the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form with interspersed said pointers represented in the auditorily presentable form as a multi-media message to a user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the step of identifying is preceded by the step of obtaining the message comprising the sequence of segments of information represented in the first visually presentable form; and the step of interspersing pointers comprises the step of substituting the information represented in the auditorily presentable form and the second visually presentable form for the information represented in the first visually presentable form.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the first visually presentable form comprises data; and the auditorily presentable form comprises voice and the second visually presentable form comprises image.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of converting representation of other segments comprises the step of:
identifying the other segments of information of the message represented in the first visually presentable form which can be represented in the second visually presentable form.

5. A messaging method comprising the steps of:
obtaining an e-mail message; identifying segments of the obtained e-mail message that can be converted into voice message segments; convening the identified segments into voice message segments; converting other segments of the e-mail message into fax message segments;
interspersing voice pointers to the fax message segments among the voice message segments; and delivering the received message as an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising the fax message segments and the voice message segments interspersed with the voice pointers.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of convening other segments comprises the steps of:
selecting other segments of the e-mail message that are not to be discarded;
convening the selected segments into the fax message segments; and discarding segments of the obtained message other than the identified and the selected segments.

7. A messaging method comprising the steps of:
receiving an e-mail message;
parsing the received message into header, whitespace, prose, and non-prose segments;
convening the header segment into a voice header segment;

convening the prose segments into voice message segments;
convening the non-prose segments into fax message segments;
inserting among the voice message segments, at places occupied in the received e-mail message by the non-prose segments, voice pointers to the fax message segments; and delivering the received message to a recipient as an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising a voice message that includes the voice header segments, the voice message segments, and the inserted voice pointers, and further comprising a fax message that includes the fax segments.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of:
discarding the whitespace segments except those that are surrounded by the non-prose segments.

9. A method of media conversion comprising the steps of:
obtaining a multi-media message comprising a sequence of information segments including graphical information segments represented in a first visually presentable form, textual information segments represented in an auditorily presentable form, and pointers represented in the auditorily presentable form and pointing to the graphical information segments, the pointers being interspersed among the textual information segments represented in the auditorily presentableform such that the textual information segments represented in the auditorily presentable form with the interspersed pointers together define said sequence ofinformation segments in the multi-media message;
converting representation of the graphical information segments from the first visually presentable form into a second visually presentable form;
converting representation of the textual information segments from the auditorily presentable form into the second visually presentable form; and interspersing the graphical information segments represented in the second visually presentable form among the textual information segments represented in the second visually presentable form in place of the pointers such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding graphical information segment is replaced by said corresponding graphical information segment in the second visually presentable form in said sequence among the textual information segments represented in the second visually presentable form; and collectively presenting said sequence of the textual information segments represented in the second visually presentable form and the graphical information segments represented in the second visually presentable form in place of said multi-media message to a user.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:
the step of obtaining comprises the step of receiving an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising a fax file including fax message segments and a voice file including voice message segmentsinterspersed with pointers to the fax message segments;
the step of converting representation of the graphical information segments comprises the step of converting the fax message segments into e-mail message segments;
the step of converting representation of the textual information segments comprises the step of converting the voice message segments into e-mail message segments;
the step of interspersing comprises the step of inserting the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments among the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments in place of the voice pointers; and the step of collectively presenting includes the step of delivering to a recipient an e-mail message comprising the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments and interspersed withthe e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments, instead of the received message.

11. A media-conversion arrangement comprising:
means for identifying segments of textual information in a message comprising a sequence of segments of information represented in a first visuallypresentable form which identified segments can be represented in an auditorily presentable form;
processor means for converting representation of the identified segments from the first visually presentable form into the auditorily presentable form;

processor means for converting representation of other segments of the sequence of segments of information of the message from the first visually presentable form into a second visually presentable form;
means for interspersing pointers, represented in the auditorily presentable form and pointing to the segments represented in the second visuallypresentable form, among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding segment represented in the second visually presentable form takes a place of said corresponding segment in said sequence among the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form; and means for collectively presenting the segments represented in the second visually presentable form and the segments represented in the auditorily presentable form with interspersed said pointers represented in the auditorily presentable form as a multi-media message to a user.

12. The arrangement of claim 11 further comprising:
means for obtaining the message comprising the sequence of segments of information represented in the first visually presentable form; and means for substituting the information represented in the auditorily presentable form and the second visually presentable form for the information represented in the first visually presentable form.

13. The arrangement of claim 11 wherein:
the first visually presentable form comprises data; and the auditorily presentable form comprises voice and the second visually presentable form comprises image.

14. The arrangement of claim 11 wherein the means for converting representation of other segments comprise:
means for identifying the other segments of information of the message represented in the first visually presentable form which can be represented in the second visually presentable form.

15. A messaging arrangement comprising:
means for obtaining an e-mail message;
means for identifying segments of the obtained e-mail message that can be converted into voice message segments;

processor means for convening the identified segments into voice message segments;
processor means for converting other segments of the e-mail message into fax message segments;
means for interspersing voice pointers to the fax message segments among the voice message segments; and means for delivering the received message as an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising the fax message segments and the voice message segments interspersed with the voice pointers.

16. The arrangement of claim 15 wherein the means for converting other segments comprise:
means for selecting other segments of the e-mail message that are not to be discarded;
means for convening the selected segments into the fax message segments; and means for discarding segments of the obtained message other than the identified and the selected segments.

17. A messaging arrangement comprising:
means for receiving an e-mail message;
processing means for parsing the received message into header, whitespace, prose, and non-prose segments;
processing means for converting the header segment into a voice header segment;
processing means for converting the prose segments into voice message segments;
processing means for converting the non-prose segments into fax message segments;
means for inserting among the voice message segments, at places occupied in the received e-mail message by the non-prose segments, voice pointers to the fax message segments; and means for delivering the received message to a recipient as an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising a voice message that includes the voice header segments, the voice message segments; and the inserted voice pointers, and further comprising a fax message that includes the fax segments.

18. The arrangement of claim 17 further comprising:
means for discarding the whitespace segments except those that are surrounded by the non-prose segments.

19. A media conversion arrangement comprising:
means for obtaining a multi-media message comprising a sequence of information segments including graphical information segments represented in a first visually presentable form, textual information segments represented in an auditorily presentable form, and pointers pointing to the graphical information segments represented in the first visually presentable form, the pointers being represented in the auditorily presentable form and interspersed among the textual information segments represented in the auditorily presentable form such that the textual information segments represented in the auditorily presentable form with the interspersed pointers together define said sequence of information segments in the multi-media message;
processor means for converting representation of the graphical information segments from the first visually presentable form into a second visually presentable form;
processor means for converting representation of the textual information segments from the auditorily presentable form into the second visually presentable form; and means for interspersing the graphical information segments represented in the second visually presentable form among the textual information segments represented in the second visually presentable form in place of the pointers such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding graphical information segment is replaced by said corresponding graphical information segment in the second visually presentable form in said sequence among the textual information segments represented in the second visually presentable form; and means for collectively presenting said sequence of textual information segments represented in the second visually presentable form and the graphical information segments represented in the second visually presentable form in place of said multi-media message to a user.

20. The arrangement of claim 19 wherein:

the means for obtaining comprise means for receiving an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising a fax file including fax message segments and a voice file including voice messagesegments interspersed with voice pointers to the fax message segments;
the means for converting representation of the graphical information segments comprise means for converting the fax message segments into e-mail message segments;
the means for converting representation of the textual information segments comprises means for converting the voice message segments into e-mail message segments;
the means for interspersing comprises;
means for inserting the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments among the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments in place of the voice pointers; and the means for collectively presenting includes means for delivering an e-mail message comprising the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments and interspersed with the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments, to a recipient instead of the received message.

21. A method of media conversion comprising the steps of:
obtaining information comprising voice message segments, fax message segments, and voice pointers pointing to the fax message segments, the voice pointers being interspersed among the voice message segments;
converting the voice message segments into e-mail message segments;
convening the fax message segments into e-mail message segments; and interspersing the e-mail message segments convened from the fax message segments among the e-mail message segments convened from the voice message segments in place of the voice pointers to form an e-mail message.

22. A media conversion arrangement comprising:

means for obtaining information comprising voice message segments, fax message segments, and voice pointers pointing to the fax message segments, the voice pointers being interspersed among the voice message segments;
processor means for converting the voice message segments into e-mail message segments;
processor means for converting the fax message segments into e-mail message segments; and means for interspersing the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments among the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments in place of the voice pointers to form an e-mail message.

23. A method of media conversion, comprising the steps of:
identifying segments of information in a message comprising a sequence of segments of information represented in a first sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, which identified segments can be represented in a second sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first medium;
converting representation of the identified segments from the first sensory medium into the second sensory medium;
converting representation of other segments of the sequence of segments of information of said message from the first sensory medium into a third sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first and the second media;
interspersing pointers, represented in the second sensory medium and pointing to the segments represented in the third sensory medium, among the segments represented in the second sensory medium such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding segment represented in the third sensory medium takes a place of said corresponding segment in said sequence among the segments represented in the second sensory medium; and presenting the segments represented in the third sensory medium and the sequence of the segments represented in the second sensory medium with interspersed said pointers represented in the second sensory medium as a multi-media message to a user.

24. A method of media conversion comprising the steps of:

obtaining multi-media message comprising a sequence of information segments including first information segments represented in a first sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, second information segments represented in a second sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first medium, and pointers represented in the second sensory medium and pointing to the first information segments, the pointers being interspersed among the information segments represented in the second sensory medium such that the second information segments represented in the second sensory medium with the interspersed pointers together define said sequence of information segments in the multi-media message;
converting representation of the first information segments from the first sensory medium into a third sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first and the second media;
converting representation of the second information segments from the second sensory medium into the third sensory medium; and interspersing the first information segments represented in the third sensory medium among the second information segments represented in the third sensory medium in place of the pointers such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding first information segment is replaced by said corresponding first information segment represented in the third sensory medium in said sequence among the second information segments represented in the third sensory medium;
and presenting said sequence of the second information segments represented in the third sensory medium and the first information segments represented in the third sensory medium as a message instead of said multi-mediamessage to a user.

25. A media-conversion arrangement comprising:
means for identifying segments of information in a message comprising a sequence of segments of information represented in a first sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, which identifiedsegments can be represented in a second sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first medium;

processor means for converting representation of the identified segments from the first sensory medium into the second sensory medium;
processor means for converting representation of other segments of the sequence of segments of information of said message from the first sensory medium into a third sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first and the second media;
means for interspersing pointers, represented in the second sensory medium and pointing to the segments represented in the third sensory medium, among the segments represented in the second sensory medium such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding segment represented in the third sensory medium takes a place of said corresponding segment in said sequence among the segments represented in the second sensory medium; and means for presenting the segments represented in the third sensory medium and the sequence of the segments represented in the second sensory mediumwith interspersed said pointers represented in the second sensory medium as a multi-media message to a user.

26. A media conversion arrangement comprising:
means for obtaining a multi-media message comprising a sequence of information segments including first information segments represented in a firstsensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, second information segments represented in a second sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first medium, and pointers pointing to the first information segments represented in the firstsensory medium, the pointers being represented in the second sensory medium and interspersed among the information segments represented in the second sensory medium such that the second information segments represented in the second sensory medium with the interspersed pointers together define said sequence of information segments in the multi-media message;
processor means for converting representation of the first information segments from the first sensory medium into a third sensory medium in which the information is perceivable by the senses of a person, distinct from the first and the second media;

processor means for converting representation of the second information segments from the second sensory medium into the third sensory medium; and means for interspersing the first information segments represented in the third sensory medium among the second information segments represented in the third sensory medium in place of the pointers such that each pointer pointing to a corresponding first information segment is replaced by said corresponding first information segment represented in the third sensory medium in said sequence among the second information segments represented in the third sensory medium;
and means for presenting said sequence of the second information segments represented in the third sensory medium and the first information segments represented in the third sensory medium as a message instead of said multi-mediamessage to a user.

27. A method of media conversion, comprising the steps of:
receiving an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising a fax file including fax message segments and a voice file including voice message segmentsinterspersed with voice pointers to the fax message segments;
converting the fax message segments into e-mail message segments;
converting the voice message segments into e-mail message segments;
inserting the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments among the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments in place of the voice pointers; and delivering to a recipient an e-mail message comprising the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments and interspersed withthe e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments, instead of the received message.

28. A media conversion arrangement comprising:
means for receiving an integrated voice-and-fax message comprising a fax file including fax message segments and a voice file including voice messagesegments interspersed with voice pointers to the fax message segments;
processor means for converting the fax message segments into e-mail message segments;

processor means for converting the voice message segments into e-mail message segments;
means for inserting the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments among the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments in place of the voice pointers; and means for delivering an e-mail message comprising the e-mail message segments converted from the voice message segments and interspersed with the e-mail message segments converted from the fax message segments, to a recipient instead of the received message.