Method and apparatus for identifying occurrences of a given network address

A method of identifying occurrences of a given network address in at least one personal electronic directory, the directory comprising stored information pertaining to personal contacts, comprising,

• transmitting a request comprising data associated with the given network address to at least one remote communication device coupled to at least one personal electronic directory,
• said request for triggering a lookup in the coupled directory associated with said at least one remote communication device;
• searching within the coupled directory for at least a partial match of said data associated with the given network address;
• and
• if at least a partial match is found, receiving at least one message from at least one remote communication device, the message comprising an identifier of the remote communication device sending the message and signifying that said data associated with the given network address is present within said directory coupled to the sending remote device without including any information from said directory,
• wherein a list comprising the identification of the at least one remote communication device able to find at least a partial match of said data is generated.