System, apparatus and method for personalising web content

A method of personalising content communicated to a client equipment unit by a content providing server, the method comprising the steps of:

• intercepting at a data manipulation server remote from the client equipment unit and disposed in-line between the content providing server and the client equipment unit, a request message for obtaining the content, the request message being transmitted from the client equipment unit and addressed to the content providing server;
• in response to the interception, retrieving from a data store personal data relating to a user of the client equipment unit;
• and
• modifying the request message prior to forwarding said request message to the content providing server;
• and
• storing at the content providing server a number of versions of said content relating to attribute variables/parameters of the personal data relating to the user, retrieving, in response to receiving the request message, an appropriate version of the content in dependence on the personal data of the user used to modify the request message, and sending said retrieved version of the content to the client equipment unit.

A programmed computer for personalising content communicated to a client equipment unit from a content providing server, the computer comprising:

• a memory having at least one region for storing computer executable program code, and
• a processor for executing the program code stored in the memory, wherein the program code comprises:
• code to intercept at a data manipulation server, disposed in-line between the client equipment unit and content providing server and remote from the client equipment unit, a request message for obtaining the content, the request message being transmitted from the client equipment unit and addressed to the content providing server;
• code to retrieve personal data relating to a user of the client equipment unit in response to the interception;
• code to modify the request message prior to forwarding said request message to the content providing server;
• and
• code for storing at the content providing server a number of versions of said content relating to attribute variables/parameters of the personal data relating to the user, retrieving, in response to receiving the request message, an appropriate version of the content in dependence on the personal data of the user used to modify the request message, and sending said retrieved version of the content to the client equipment unit.

A content personalisation system for a communications network comprising:

• a client equipment unit capable of communicating with a content providing server for providing content;
• a data manipulation server disposed in-line between the client equipment unit and the content providing server and remote from the client equipment unit, the data manipulation server being coupled to a data store arranged to store personal data relating to a user of the client equipment unit;
• wherein
• the data manipulation server is adapted to intercept said request message for obtaining the content, to retrieve personal data relating to the user from the data store and to use the retrieved personal data to modify the request message prior to forwarding said request message to the content providing server;
• and
• the content providing server is adapted to store a number of versions of said content relating to attribute variables/parameters of the personal data relating to the user, to retrieve, in response to receiving the request message, an appropriate version of the content in dependence on the personal data of the user used to modify the request message, and to send said retrieved version of the content to the client equipment unit.

A method of personalising content communicated to a client equipment unit by a content providing server, the method comprising the steps of:

• intercepting at a data manipulation server, disposed in-line between the client equipment unit and content providing server and remote from the client equipment unit, a request message being transmitted from the client equipment unit to the content providing server for obtaining the content;
• in response to the interception, retrieving personal data relating to a user of the client equipment unit;
• modifying the request message in dependence on the retrieved personal data relating to the user;
• forwarding the modified request message to the content providing server;
• and
• storing at the content providing server a number of versions of said content relating to attribute variables/parameters of the personal data relating to the user, retrieving, in response to receiving the request message, an appropriate version of the content in dependence on the personal data of the user used to modify the request message, and sending said retrieved version of the content to the client equipment unit.