Method and system for accessing information using keyword clustering and meta-information

An information access system, for accessing sets of information stored in a distributed manner and accessible by means of a communications network, the access system having:

• (i) data storage, or means to access data storage, for storing at least one set of predetermined keywords and at least one set of meta-information, wherein said meta-information includes at least a pointer to a set of information when stored in said distributed manner;
• (ii) keyword clustering means for calculating a measure of similarity between at least one keywork Ki of said at least one stored set of keywords and a keyword Kj, said measure having a value derived from the number of sets of information, pointed to by meta-information stored within said data storage, containing both keyword Ki and keyword Kj;
• and
• (iii) retrieval means for identifying a set of information, stored in said distributed manner, according to search criteria comprising keywords identified as being similar by said keyword clustering means;
• wherein the value of said measure of similarity between keywords Ki and Kj, as calculated by said keyword clustering means, is proportional to the value of
• {Ki∩Kj}/{{Ki}+{Kj}}
• wherein {Ki}, {Kj} and {Ki∩Kj}, represent the number of sets of information pointed to by said stored meta-information containing, respectively, keywords Ki, Ki and both Ki and Kj.