Advertising system for the internet and local area networks

A method of playing a game, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereto;
• subsequently performing, for each user of the users, the following steps (1) through (5) following;
• (1) generating electronic game tokens for playing the game, said game tokens played in instances of the game to affect outcomes of the instances, wherein the electronic game tokens are representations of game indicia;
• (2) receiving player identification data prior to at least a first player playing the game, wherein said identification data is used to identify information related to the first player in subsequent instances of the game;
• (3) first playing a first instance of the game interactively with the first player and a substantially electronic game playing module, wherein said game playing module plays a first sequence of said game tokens, wherein at least one of the tokens of the first sequence is provided upon request;
• (4) second playing a second instance of the game interactively with a second player and said game playing module, wherein said first and second game instances overlap in time, and wherein said game playing module plays a second sequence of game tokens when playing said second instance of the game;
• wherein said first and second sequences have at least different game tokens in at least one identical game token position, in each of said first and second sequences;
• and
• (5) presenting to the first player, during said first instance, an advertisement capable of changing to a different advertising presentation when the first player responds to said advertisement, wherein said change to said different advertising presentation does not change an availability to subsequently perform game plays of said first instance;
• wherein for determining the advertisement, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the advertisement;
• wherein in playing each of the first and second instances of the game, instances of combined data are obtained using a common advertising selector for determining, for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising for combining with a game play, the instance of combined data subsequently transmitted on a network, respectively, to one of the first and second players;
• wherein for each player of the first and second players, each instance of the combined data therefor is (a) transmitted on the network in response to a user interaction by the player, and (b) the advertising and the game play therein are presented concurrently to the player.

A method of viewing a presentation related to one of a product and a service while playing a user interactive game on a network, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics for the users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereto;
• wherein at least one of the characteristics for each user is not a characteristic of the advertisers used for selecting advertising;
• subsequently performing, for each user of the users, the following steps (1) through (6) following;
• (1) communicating with a server network node that provides network access to one or more games capable of being played using communications on said network;
• (2) playing one of said games using communications between a first user node for the user, and said server network node;
• (3) presenting a first presentation at said first user node, wherein said first presentation is initially presented between two plays of the game and wherein said first presentation is capable of being replaced by a different second presentation, during the game, without changing a play of the game;
• wherein for determining the first presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the first presentation;
• wherein during the user playing the one game, instances of combined data are obtained using an advertising selector for determining, for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising for combining with a game play, the instance of combined data subsequently transmitted on the network to the first user node;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (a) transmitted on the network in response to a user interaction by the user, and (b) the advertising and the game play therein are presented concurrently to the user;
• (4) detecting an action in response to said first presentation;
• (5) transmitting a data item indicative of said action to a second network node not contacted for the playing of the game with the user;
• and
• (6) conducting a network communication between the user and the second network node, in response to said data item, for information related to the purchase of at least one of:
• a product and a service.

A method of advertising on the Internet, comprising:

• activating by an Internet accessible user node, an instance of an interactive service available at a first Internet accessible node via a first Internet connection;
• first presenting a first presentation, via the Internet, to a user at said user node, during Internet interactions between the user and the service, wherein said first presentation identifies at least one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service;
• and wherein said first presentation is:
• unrequested by the user, and substantially unrelated to a performance of the service by the user;
• transmitting data, via an Internet communication, indicative of an action by the user in response to said step of first presenting;
• receiving, via the Internet, a second presentation for presenting to the user, wherein said second presentation is determined using said data, said second presentation also identifying one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service;
• and
• second presenting to the user said second presentation during the first Internet connection.

A method for providing advertising related information while playing a user interactive game on a communications network, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereof;
• subsequently performing, for each user of the users, the following steps (1) through (5) following;
• contacting a game playing network node by a user at a user network node;
• initiating an instance of the game by the user at the user network node, wherein the instance includes a plurality of user plays;
• first receiving one or more advertising related presentations by the user for presentation during a playing of the instance of the game, wherein for at least a duration of time between a pair of some of the user plays, a first of said one or more advertising presentations is presented at the user network node, wherein said first advertising related presentation was not presented to the user during the instance of the game between a different pair of some two of the user plays, wherein at least one of said advertising related presentations is interactive and has network node identifying information for accessing an additional network node different from said game playing network node, said additional network node having an additional presentation responsive to a user input to said at least one advertising related presentation;
• wherein for determining the first advertising presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the first presentation;
• wherein during the user playing the instance of the game, instances of combined data are obtained using an advertising selector for determining, for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising that is combined with a game play for being subsequently transmitted on the network to the user network node;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (a) transmitted on the network in response to a user input, and (b) the advertising and the game play therein are presented concurrently to the user;
• wherein for each instance of the combined data, the advertising therein and a play of the game therein are combined in response to a previous game play by the user;
• transmitting for said at least one advertising related presentation, user response data to said additional network node, wherein said user response data is related to one or more responses by the user to said at least one advertising related presentation;
• and
• second receiving by the user network node another advertising related presentation providing additional information about a product or service advertised in said at least one advertising related presentation.

A method of advertising on the Internet, comprising:

• for each of one or more users accessing the Internet, the following steps are performed:
• first transmitting, from the user, an Internet request for contacting a providing node of the Internet, said providing node provides access to one or more display presentations for a user interactive service with which the user desires to interact, wherein said request has associated therewith an Internet address for contacting the providing node, and wherein said interactive service is interactive via the Internet with the user;
• first receiving, via the providing node, said one or more display presentations for presenting on at least a portion of a display of a user node by which the user accesses the Internet;
• first presenting, by the user node, overlapping with a display of at least one of the display presentations, a first one or more interactive advertising presentations for providing information related to one or more of a product and a service, wherein said first one or more interactive advertising presentations are received via the Internet in response to Internet transmissions by the providing node, and displayed on at least a portion of said display;
• wherein the first one or more interactive advertising presentations, and the at least one of the display presentations are determined in response to a user input resulting in a transmission to the providing node, the user input including a request for the at least one of the display presentations;
• wherein the first one or more interactive advertising presentations, and the at least one of the display presentations are combined at the providing node for transmission to the user node via the Internet;
• second presenting, by the user node over time, one or more additional advertising presentations, said additional advertising presentations are sequentially presented on the user node having delay therebetween provided by the providing node, each said additional advertising presentation for providing information related to one of a product and a service, wherein each of at least most of said additional advertising presentations is:
• (a) received via the Internet in response to Internet transmissions by the providing node, and (b) not in response to any prior user input obtained in the first transmitting, first receiving, and first presenting steps, and (c) displayed on at least a portion of said display without the user providing an a user node input that is (i) subsequent to said steps of first transmitting, first receiving and first presenting, and (ii) to which said one or more additional advertising presentations are would be responsively provided;
• second transmitting, via the Internet, data indicative of an action by the user in response to one of said first and said additional advertising presentations, wherein said data is transmitted:
• (a) from said user node, and (b) to a destination node of the Internet, said destination node identified at said user node by destination Internet link information used for transmitting said data;
• second receiving, via the Internet, another presentation for presenting to the user at said user node, wherein said another presentation is responsive to said action by the user.

A method of advertising on the Internet, comprising:

• for each of one or more users accessing the Internet, the following steps are performed:
• receiving, at an Internet providing node and from a user node by which the user accesses the Internet, an Internet request for one or more display presentations of an interactive service, wherein said request has associated therewith an Internet address for contacting the providing node, and wherein said interactive service is interactive via the Internet between said providing node and the user;
• transmitting to the user node, in response to said Internet request (a) and (b) following:
• (a) said one or more display presentations of said service for presenting on at least a portion of a display for the user node, and
• (b) one or more advertising presentations, wherein a first of said advertising presentations is also displayed on at least a portion of said display with at least one of said display presentations;
• wherein, over time, one or more additional of said advertising presentations are presented on at least a portion of said display without the user providing an input having a corresponding next response that presents said one or more additional advertising presentations;
• wherein at least one of said first and said additional advertising presentations is capable of responding to an action by the user by transmitting, via the Internet, data indicative of said action to a destination Internet node, wherein said destination node is identified by destination Internet link information, provided in said step of transmitting, for contacting said destination node with said data.

A method of advertising on a network, comprising:

• for each of one or more users accessing the network, the following steps are performed:
• first transmitting, from the user, a corresponding request for accessing a providing node of the network, said providing node provides one or more interactive display presentations, wherein said request has associated therewith a network address for identifying the providing node;
• wherein for each presentation of said one or more display presentations, the presentation includes a content for display to the user, wherein upon display to the user, the content provides for user interaction with the providing node, the content not including data for display of interactive advertising;
• first receiving, from the providing node via the network, said one or more interactive display presentations for presenting on at least a portion of a display of a user node by which the user accesses the network, and wherein said interactive display presentations are interactive, via the network, between the user and said providing node;
• wherein data for at least one of said interactive display presentations is combined with data for a first advertising presentation, prior to transmission on the network to the user node, to thereby obtain combined data, and wherein the combined data is transmitted to the user node in response to a user request;
• first presenting, by the user node, concurrently with the at least one of the interactive display presentations, a the first advertising presentation for providing information related to one of a product and a service, wherein said first advertising presentation is received via the network from some one node of the network, and displayed on at least a portion of said display;
• subseqeuntly, second receiving and presenting, by the user node over time, one or more additional advertising presentations, each said additional advertising presentation for providing information related to one of a product and a service, wherein each of at least most of said additional advertising presentations is:
• (a) received via the network from said some one node, and
• (b) displayed on at least a portion of said display without the user providing an input that causes said additional advertising presentation to be displayed;
• second transmitting, via the network, data indicative of an action by the user in response to one of said first and said additional advertising presentations, wherein said data indicative of an action is transmitted:
• (i) from said user node, and
• (ii) to a destination node of the network, said destination node identified at said user node by a destination network address used for transmitting said data;
• and
• second receiving, via the network, another presentation for presenting to the user at said user node, wherein said another presentation is responsive to said step of second transmitting.

A method for providing advertising related information while playing a game on the Internet, comprising:

• contacting a game playing Internet site by a user at a user Internet station for initiating the playing an instance of a game via an Internet connection;
• transmitting user identification information prior to the user playing an the instance of the game, wherein said user identification information is used to identify additional personal information related to the user for use during at least one subsequent play of the instance of the game;
• initiating said at least one instance of the game by the user at the user Internet station, wherein said at least one instance includes a plurality of user plays;
• first receiving, by the user, one or more advertising related presentations for presentation during a playing of said at least one instance of the game, wherein at least one of said advertising related presentations accesses Internet site identifying information for contacting, on the Internet connection, an additional Internet site different from said game playing Internet site, said additional Internet site having an additional presentation responsive to input by the user to said at least one advertising related presentation;
• wherein data for the at least one advertising related presentation is combined with a response to one of the user plays of the instance of the game for obtaining combined data prior to performance of the first receiving step, the combined data transmitted on the Internet connection, wherein the at least one advertising related presentation and the response to the one user play are presented concurrently to the user;
• transmitting, for said at least one advertising related presentation, user response data to said additional Internet site, wherein said user response data is indicative of one or more inputs by the user to said at least one advertising related presentation;
• and
• second receiving, by the user Internet station, another advertising related presentation providing additional information about a product or service advertised in said at least one advertising related presentation.

A method of advertising on the Internet, comprising:

• for each of one or more users accessing the Internet, the following steps are performed:
• providing, by the user, information for a subsidized Internet access from an Internet service provider;
• connecting, by the user, to the Internet via said Internet service provider;
• first receiving, from a first Internet site via the Internet, a first transmission of one or more advertising presentations for presenting on at least a portion of a display of a user node by which the user accesses the Internet, wherein said first transmission is in response to first said step of connecting;
• wherein said advertising presentations are unrequested by the user, and the Internet access terminates as a result of one or more of said advertising presentations not being presented on the user node;
• first presenting, by the user node, concurrently with at least one of the advertising presentations, a collection of one or more Internet presentations from one or more Internet sites different from said first Internet site;
• subsequently, second receiving, by the user node over time, one or more additional advertising transmissions, from the first Internet site, for presenting to the user concurrently with said collection of Internet presentations, each said additional advertising transmission for providing information related to one of a product and a service, wherein each of at least most of said additional advertising transmissions is:
• (a) received via the Internet from said first Internet site, and (b) displayed on at least a portion of said display, wherein both (a) and (b) are performed independently of the user providing a corresponding request to said first Internet site;
• second transmitting, via the Internet, data indicative of an action by the user in response to a presentation of one of said first and said additional advertising transmissions, wherein said data is transmitted:
• (a) from said user node, and (b) to a destination node of the Internet, said destination node identified at said user node by destination Internet link information used for transmitting said data;
• second receiving, via the Internet, another presentation for presenting to the user at said user node, wherein said another presentation is responsive to said action by the user.

A method for providing advertising related information while playing a game on a communications network, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereto;
• subsequently, performing the following substeps (A1) through (A2) for each of a plurality of users:
• (A1) providing, in response to a request on the communications network by the user, access to an instance of the game for playing by the user, wherein the instance includes a plurality of user plays;
• (A2) transmitting one or more advertising related presentations to the user for presentation during a playing of the instance of the game, wherein for at least a duration of time between a pair of some of the user plays, a first of said one or more advertising related presentations is presented to the user, wherein said first advertising related presentation was not presented to the user during the instance of the game between a different pair of some two of the user plays, and wherein for at least one of said advertising related presentations, (a) and (b) following hold:
• (a) said at least one advertising related presentation has associated therewith network linking information identifying a corresponding one of a plurality of nodes connected to the communications network, said network linking information being identical for transmissions of said at least one advertising related presentation for at least most of the users;
• and
• (b) said at least one advertising related presentation is capable of providing a responsive transmission, for transmitting on the communications network, corresponding data related to one or more responses by the user to said at least one advertising related presentation;
• wherein for determining the first advertising related presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the first advertising related presentation;
• wherein during the user playing the instance of the game, instances of combined data are obtained using an advertising selector for determining, for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising for combining with a game play, the instance of combined data subsequently transmitted on the network to the user;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (i) transmitted on the network in response to a user input, and (ii) the advertising and the game play therein are presented concurrently to the user;
• providing advertising related information to a first advertiser for said at least one advertising related presentation, wherein said advertising related information is obtained using said corresponding data for said at least one advertising presentation.

A method for providing product or service information while playing a game using a communications network, comprising:

• performing the following substeps (A1) through (A3) for each of a plurality of users:
• (A1) receiving, at a first network site, a communications network request from the user to play a corresponding instance of the game, wherein the corresponding instance includes a plurality of user plays, wherein for each of at least some of game play network transmissions to the user for said plays, said transmission is dependent upon a most recent previous network game play transmission from the user, and at least some of said game play transmissions have different visual displays for different users;
• (A2) providing for presentation to the user, at a second network site, one or more presentations for presentation during a playing of the corresponding instance of the game, wherein a network source for at least one response to one of the user plays also transmits presentation data for the presentations, wherein between some two of the user plays there is one of said one or more presentations presented to the user, wherein said presentations are for relating information about one or more purchasable products or services, or for receiving information from the user about purchasable products or services;
• wherein during the user playing the instance of the game, instances of combined data are obtained using an advertising selector for determining, for each instance of the combined data, a corresponding one of the presentations is combined with a game play for being subsequently transmitted on the network to the first user node;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (a) transmitted on the network in response to a user interaction by the user, and (b) the advertising and the game play therein are presented concurrently to the user;
• wherein said step of providing includes the following substep (A3):
• (A3) transmitting, to the second network site, at least one of said presentations having a capability for (i) and (ii) following:
• (i) receiving data, wherein said data is related to one or more responses by the user to said at least one presentation presented to the user, and (ii) transmitting, in response to an action by the user, said data on the communications network to a predetermined network site, using a network identity for the predetermined network site available at the second network site, wherein said network identity does not identify said first network site as said predetermined network site;
• wherein said data is used for selecting a second presentation for presenting for presenting to the user during said corresponding game instance.

A method for providing information regarding products or services while playing a game using a network, comprising:

• (A1) providing, at a network site on said network, access to a plurality of presentations for presenting to a plurality of users, wherein at least some of said presentations have corresponding network linking information for identifying a corresponding site on the network, and each of said at least some presentations provide:
• (a) information about one or more purchasable products or services, and (b) a capability for receiving a corresponding response from the user related to the one or more purchasable products or services;
• performing the following substeps (A2) and (A3) for each of some of the users:
• (A2) receiving a request for playing an a corresponding instance of the game by the user using the network;
• (A3) transmitting, via the network, a particular one of said at least some presentations to the user for presentation between some two user plays of the game instance, wherein said particular presentation also has a capability to transmit data indicative of a said corresponding response by the user to said corresponding site on the network identified by said corresponding network linking information;
• wherein said data, once received at said corresponding site, is used for one of:
• evaluating an effectiveness of at least one of said presentations, determining another presentation for transmitting to the user, providing a product, and providing a service;
• wherein for each user of at least a first and second of the users, (i) and (ii) following hold:
• (A-2-1) concurrently presenting to the user:
• (i-a) information for playing the corresponding instance of the game, and (i-b) the particular presentation for an advertiser, wherein the information for playing and the particular presentation are combined for transmission to a device operated by the user for playing the instance of the game and concurrently presenting the particular presentation;
• and
• (A-2-2) at least a portion of data obtained from interactions by the user with the instance of the game is used for providing the advertiser with one of:
• (ii-a) information for an advertising related purpose different from playing the corresponding instance of the game, and (ii-b) information for determining an effectiveness of a presentation for the corresponding advertiser related data.

An apparatus for playing a game using the Internet, and providing a presentation related to at least one of a product and a service during the game, comprising:

• a game playing engine, accessible via a first Internet site, said engine capable of playing a game with each of a plurality of users, each of said plurality of users at a corresponding Internet accessible station, wherein communications on the Internet are used;
• a controller for controlling network game play transmissions to the Internet accessible stations, wherein between some two plays at a first of the Internet stations during a playing of the game with a first of the users, at least one presentation of a plurality of presentations is presented using presentation information transmitted by said controller via the Internet, and wherein said presentation information includes:
• (a) advertising information concerning at least one of:
• a corresponding product and a corresponding service, (b) Internet linking information identifying an additional presentation to be obtained from a second Internet site, (c) a capability for allowing said at least one presentation to receive one or more data items related to one or more actions by the first user directed to said at least one presentation, and (d) a capability to transmit, upon activation of said Internet linking information by the first user, said one or more data items to said second Internet site;
• for each user, P, of the users communicating with the first Internet site for playing the game, the controller performs (i) and (ii) following:
• (i) combining advertising related data and game related information for the game, thereby resulting in combined data;
• wherein the advertising related data is for at least one advertiser;
• (ii) transmitting on the network, according to programmatic instructions performed at the first Internet site, the combined data to the corresponding Internet accessible station for the user P for concurrently presenting the advertising related data and game related information;
• wherein one or more user response processing modules at the second Internet site uses data obtained from said one or more data items for at least one of:
• evaluating an effectiveness of said at least one presentation, determining another of the presentations for transmitting to the first user, providing a product to the first user, providing a service to the first user, purchasing the corresponding product by the first user, and purchasing the corresponding service by the first user.

A method of presenting at least one of a product and a service while playing one or more games on a network, comprising:

• for each of a plurality of users the following steps (A1) through (A3) are performed:
• (A1) first determining, in response to a network request by the user, a particular presentation, from a plurality of presentations, to present to the user at a corresponding user node of the network, wherein said presentations are used for presenting information about at least one of a product and a service, and said particular presentation includes addressing information for a destination site of the network for receiving user responses to said particular presentation;
• (A2) playing, with the user, a corresponding instance of one of the games, wherein the instance includes one or more user plays and wherein for each of at least most of the users playing the game concurrently, a different display of tokens for the game is presented from that displayed to most other users;
• (A3) first presenting to the user during the playing of a portion of the corresponding instance, said particular presentation via the network;
• wherein a data item indicative of an action in response to said particular presentation is transmitted to said destination site wherein said data item is used for one of:
• evaluating an effectiveness of said particular presentation, selecting another presentation for presenting to the user, providing a product, providing a service to the user, purchasing a product, purchasing a service, and providing information for influencing the user on a predetermined issue.

A method of viewing a presentation related to one of a product and a service while playing a game on a network, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereto;
• accessing the network by a first user of the users via a first network service provider, and by a second user of the users via a different second network service provider;
• communicating by each of the first and second users with a network site that provides network access to one or more games capable of being played using communications on said network, wherein each of said first and second users use a common network address for communicating with said network site;
• wherein the first user has registered with the network site;
• playing a first instance of one of said games using communications between said first user and said network site;
• wherein after each input, of a plurality of inputs by the first user, resulting in a corresponding transmission on the network for playing the first instance, the network site then (1) determines, upon receiving the corresponding transmission, a responsive game play content for the first instance, and (2) the responsive game play content has data for the advertising of one of the advertisers associated therewith for transmission to the first user;
• presenting a first presentation to the first user, wherein the network site transmits at least one response to one of the user plays to the first user, and the network site also transmits the first presentation, wherein said first presentation is displayed between some two plays of the first instance and wherein said first presentation provides information about a product or service;
• wherein for determining the first presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the first presentation;
• replacing said first presentation by a second presentation for display to the first user between a different two plays of the first instance of the game, wherein said second presentation provides information about a product or service;
• detecting an action by the first user in response to one of said first presentation and said second presentation;
• transmitting one or more data items indicative of said action to a particular network site corresponding to said one presentation;
• receiving another presentation for presenting to the first user during a playing of the game first instance, said another presentation responsive to said step of transmitting;
• wherein for the first user, (i) and (ii) following hold:
• (i) concurrently presenting to the first user:
• (i-a) information for playing the first instance of the game, and (i-b) the first presentation for an advertiser;
• and
• (ii) at least a portion of data obtained from interactions by the first user with the first instance of the game is used for providing the advertiser with one of:
• (ii-a) information for an advertising related purpose different from playing the first instance of the game, and (ii-b) information for determining an effectiveness of a presentation for the corresponding advertiser related data.

A method of viewing a presentation related to one of a product and a service while playing a game on a network, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereto;
• providing access to the network via a first user node;
• communicating with a second network node that provides network access to one or more games capable of being played using communications on said network;
• transmitting game plays, via the network, between said first user node and said second network node for one of said games;
• presenting a first advertising presentation to said first user node, wherein said first advertising presentation is presented during a first instance of the game and wherein said first advertising presentation is capable of being replaced by a different second advertising presentation, and wherein the first advertising presentation is provided by the second network node;
• wherein for determining the first advertising related presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the first advertising related presentation;
• wherein in playing the first instance of the game, instances of combined data are obtained using an advertising selector for determining, for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising for combining with a game play, the instance of combined data subsequently transmitted on a network to the first user node;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (a) transmitted on the network in response to a user interaction at the first user node, and (b) the advertising and the game play therein are presented concurrently at the first user node;
• detecting an action in response to said first advertising presentation by said first user node during the first instance of the game;
• first transmitting a data item indicative of said action on said network;
• and
• second transmitting to said first user node, another advertising presentation, wherein said another advertising presentation is determined using said data item.

A method of viewing a presentation related to one of a product and a service while playing a game on a network with a server network node, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining whether the advertising is to be presented to the users;
• subsequently performing, for each user of the users, the following steps (1) through (6) following;
• (1) communicating with a the server network node that provides network access to one or more games capable of being played using communications on said network with the user via a first user node;
• (2) playing one of said games using communications between a the first user node and said server network node;
• (3) presenting a first presentation at said first user node, wherein said first presentation is presented between two plays of the game in response to a transmission from the server network node, and wherein said first presentation is capable of being replaced, without being in response to an immediately previous user input, by a different second presentation without changing a play of the game;
• wherein for determining the first presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the first presentation;
• (4) detecting an action in response to said first presentation;
• (5) transmitting a data item indicative of said action to a second network node;
• (6) providing, in response to said data item, information related to the purchase of at least one of a product and a service;
• wherein for the user at the first user node, (i) and (ii) following hold:
• (i) concurrently presenting to the user:
• (i-a) information for playing the game, and (i-b) the first presentation for an advertiser;
• and
• (ii) at least a portion of data obtained from interactions by the user with the game is used for providing the advertiser with one of:
• (ii-a) information for an advertising related purpose different from playing the game, and (ii-b) information for determining an effectiveness of a presentation for the corresponding advertiser related data.

A method of presenting an Internet presentation, comprising:

• providing a first presentation, via the Internet, to a user Internet accessible node;
• activating, in response to an Internet request by the user via an Internet connection to the user Internet accessible node, an instance of a first Internet service, wherein said first presentation is presented at least during an interval between Internet transmissions for two user inputs to the instance of the first Internet service, and said first presentation is not initially presented in response to an immediately previous Internet input by the user, during said Internet connection, and wherein said first presentation provides information relating to at least one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service;
• wherein the instance of the first Internet service presents on the user Internet accessible node a same informational content regardless of, but concurrently with, a first instance of the first presentation and a subsequent instance of the first presentation presented at the user Internet accessible node;
• wherein a same Internet node provides the user Internet accessible node with at least a portion of the instance of the first Internet service, and information related to both the first instance and the subsequent instance of the first presentation;
• receiving data, via a communication on the Internet, indicative of an action by the user in response to said first presentation being presented to the user, wherein said communication uses an Internet address, available at the user Internet accessible node, for determining a destination of said data;
• determining a second presentation for presenting to the user, wherein said second presentation is determined using said data, said second presentation also providing information relating to one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service;
• transmitting to the user, via the Internet, said second presentation for presenting to the user during said Internet connection.

A method of providing a presentation to each of one or more users of a communications network, comprising:

• performing for each of the one or more users, steps (A1) through (A3) following:
• (A1) providing access to a network server node for allowing network access to a network service, wherein said network server node presents one or more interactive service presentations to each user:
• (a) during an activation of the network service from a network client node via the network, and (b) substantially asynchronously from most other users, said interactive service presentations providing interactive communications between the user and said network server node via the network;
• (A2) presenting concurrently with the interactive service presentations at the network client node, a first advertising presentation for providing information related to one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service, wherein said first advertising presentation is transmitted during the activation of the network service, and said first advertising presentation is capable of being replaced by a different, second advertising presentation for presenting during the activation of the network service, and wherein at least one of said service presentations for presenting on the network client node is determined without regard to which one of said first and second advertising presentations are also transmitted to the user for concurrent presentation with the at least one service presentation;
• (A3) receiving data, via a communication on the network, indicative of an action by the user in response to said step of presenting;
• and
• evaluating, using said data, an effectiveness of at least one of said first and second advertising presentations;
• wherein the step of evaluating includes one or more:
• measurement related to negative responses to said first advertising presentation, a comparison of a measurement of an effectiveness of said first advertising presentation with measurement of an effectiveness of another advertising presentation, a measurement related to a number of a saleable product of saleable service sold to the users interacting with the network service.

A method of providing a presentation one or more service presentations with advertising presentations on a network, comprising:

• activating, in response to a request by a user, a service accessible from a first node of the network, wherein one or more interactive service presentations are presented to the user during an activation of the service by a network user node from which the user accesses the network, at least some of said interactive service presentations transmits communications on the network between said first node and said user node;
• presenting concurrently with the service presentations at the user node, a first advertising presentation for providing information related to one of a product and a service, wherein said first advertising presentation is transmitted on the network for display during the activation of the service, and a display of said first advertising presentation is capable of being replaced by a display of a different, second advertising presentation during the activation of said service, wherein at least one of said service presentations, for presenting on the user node, is determined without regard to which one of said first and second advertising presentations is presented concurrently to the user with the at least one service presentation;
• wherein a determination of said at least one service presentation does not select the first advertising presentation;
• wherein said first advertising presentation includes network link data that includes a network identifier identifying another presentation at a second node of the network different from said first node, and wherein said first advertising presentation is activated for requesting said another presentation by the user providing an input related to a position of a display of said first advertising presentation.

A method of providing a presentation one or more service presentations with presentations for a product or service on a network, comprising:

• activating a network service accessible from a first network node via the network, wherein one or more interactive service presentations are presented to a user during an activation of the network service by a network user node from which the user accesses the network;
• inputting, by the user, service related information during a presentation of the service presentations for transmitting said information, via the network, to said first network node during the activation of the network service;
• presenting concurrently with the service presentations at the network user node, a first presentation for providing information related to one of a product and a service, wherein said first presentation is transmitted for display during the activation of the network service, and a display of said first presentation is replaced by a different, second presentation during the activation of said network service substantially independently of any user input, wherein at least one of said service presentations for presenting on the network user node is determined without regard to which one of said first and second presentations is presented concurrently with the at least one service presentation to the user;
• wherein said first advertising presentation includes network link data that includes a network identifier identifying another presentation;
• activating, by the user, said first presentation for requesting said another presentation, wherein the user provides an input related to a position of a display of said first advertising presentation;
• presenting said another presentation at the network user node;
• providing product or service purchasing data to said another presentation;
• and
• receiving the product or service in response to said step of providing.

A method of providing information regarding products or services on the Internet, comprising:

• obtaining, at a first Internet accessible node, an Internet transmission from a second Internet accessible node having an Internet browser operably installed thereon from which a user thereof provides input resulting in the Internet transmission;
• subsequently, transmitting, via the Internet, from a the first Internet accessible node, first information for storing at a the second Internet accessible node, wherein said first information is capable of being utilized in subsequent Internet communications between the first Internet accessible node and the second Internet accessible node;
• wherein for each of a plurality of subsequent different Internet connections by the second Internet accessible node, the following steps (a) and (b) are performed during the subsequent different Internet connection:
• (a) receiving, via the Internet, at the first Internet accessible node, second information from said second Internet accessible node, said second information indicative of at least a presence of said first information;
• (b) causing, via one or more Internet transmissions from said first Internet accessible node, one or more of a plurality of presentations to be transmitted to said second Internet accessible node when a presence of said first information is detected on said second Internet accessible node, wherein said presentations are transmitted to the second Internet accessible node unrequestedly;
• wherein the following (i) through (iii) occur during at least one of said subsequent different Internet connections:
• (i) an instance of each of said one or more of the presentations are is transmitted during an activation of a desired Internet service accessible via said first Internet accessible node, wherein said activation is activated by a user providing input to the browser at the second Internet accessible node for substantially immediate interaction with the activation for communicating therewith via a plurality of user inputs to the browser,
• (ii) a display of at least a an unrequested first of said instance presentations is replaced by a display of a different unrequested second of said instance presentations during the activation, and
• (iii) substantially all outputs from the activation of the desired Internet service, in response to Internet transmissions from the second Internet accessible node related to the activation, are determined without regard to which of said instance presentations is displayed at the second Internet accessible node;
• wherein a selector for determining the instances of the presentations determines the instances of the presentations after the desired Internet service is activated, wherein the selector is remote from the second Internet accessible node;
• wherein during the activation, instances of combined data are obtained wherein for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising for combining with content for the desired Internet service, the instance of combined data subsequently transmitted on the network to the second Internet accessible node;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (a) transmitted on the network in response to a user interaction by the user with the activation, and (b) the advertising and the content therein are presented concurrently at the second Internet accessible node.

A method for providing product or service information while playing a game, comprising:

• performing the following substeps (A1) through (A4) for each of one or more users:
• (A1) initiating an instance of the game for playing by the user, wherein the instance includes a plurality of user plays, wherein said instance uses transmissions on a communications network from a network site identified by the user wherein the user is registered with the network site;
• (A2) presenting, one after another over time, a plurality of presentations to the user during a playing of the instance of the game, wherein each of said presentations are is presented independently of without being in response to an immediately previous user input, and wherein said presentations are for relating information about one or more purchasable products or services, or for receiving information from the user about purchasable products or services;
• wherein the step (A2) includes transmitting data for the plurality of presentations from the network site;
• (A3) transmitting data by the communications network from the user to a the network site on the communications network, wherein said data is related to one or more responses by the user to at least one of said presentations presented to the user;
• and
• (A4) receiving from said network site, a second of said presentations for presenting to the user, wherein said second presentation is determined using said data;
• wherein a selector determines the presentations after the instance of the game is activated, wherein the selector is remote from an Internet accessible node from which the user plays the instance of the game;
• wherein during the instance of the game, instances of combined data are obtained wherein for each instance of the combined data, corresponding advertising for combining with content for the instance of the game, the instance of combined data subsequently transmitted on the communications network to the Internet accessible node;
• wherein each instance of the combined data is (a) transmitted on the communications network in response to a user interaction by the user with the instance of the game, and (b) the advertising and the content therein are presented concurrently at the Internet accessible node.

A method for providing information regarding products or services while playing a game using a network, comprising:

• performing the following substeps (A1) through (A3) for each of one or more users:
• (A1) providing, at a network site on said network, access to a plurality of presentations for presenting to the user, wherein said presentations provide at least one of:
• (a) information about one or more purchasable products or services and (b) a capability for receiving a response from the user related to one or more purchasable products or services;
• (A2) initiating an instance of the game for playing by the user using the network;
• (A3) causing a display, using transmissions via the network, of one or more of said presentations to the user during a playing of the game instance, wherein there is at least one corresponding presentation of said presentations displayed to the user to which the user is able to enter a response, said response including an input by the user for activating a hyperlink on a display of said corresponding presentation, wherein said hyperlink, when identified by user input, activates a display of an additional presentation;
• receiving, via said network, data related to one or more of the responses by the users to said hyperlinked additional presentations;
• and
• using said data from said one or more users for one of:
• evaluating an effectiveness of at least one of said presentations, determining another of said presentations for transmitting to the user, providing a product to the user, providing a service to the user, and charging an advertiser of one of said presentations.

A method of providing a presentation on a network, comprising:

• activating a network service accessible at a first network node, via the network, wherein one or more interactive service presentations are presented to a user during an activation of the network service by a network user node from which the user accesses the network, and an interactive content is provided by at least one of said service presentations, said content concerning the service;
• receiving, at the first network node and during the activation of the network service, network transmissions from the user node for one or more interactions between the user and said interactive service presentations concerning said interactive content;
• responding, by the first network node, to at least one of said network transmissions prior to receiving some next one of said network transmissions from the user;
• determining a particular one of a plurality of advertising presentations wherein said advertising presentations are used for presenting to the user information about at least one of a product and a service, and wherein said particular presentation includes network link data for identifying another presentation related to said particular presentation, said network link data associated with a corresponding one or more positions on a display of said particular presentation;
• providing, for display concurrently with a display of at least some said interactive content of the service presentations at the network user node, said particular advertising presentation, wherein a display of said particular advertising presentation is activated for providing said another presentation to the user when the user provides an input identifying one of said one or more positions on a display of said particular presentation, and wherein said interactive content is substantially unaffected by which of said advertising presentations is identified in said step of determining as said particular presentation.

An apparatus for providing product or service information to one or more users while each user is playing a game on a communications network, comprising:

• a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining which of the users the advertising is to be presented thereto;
• means for playing, with each user, a corresponding instance of the game, wherein the corresponding instance includes a plurality of user plays transmitted on the communications network;
• means for determining one or more presentations to present to each user during a playing of the corresponding instance of the game, wherein between some two of the user plays by the user there is one of said one or more presentations presented to the user, wherein said presentations are transmitted to the user via the communications network, and wherein said presentations are for relating information about one or more purchasable products or services, or for receiving information from the user about purchasable products or services;
• a combiner for obtaining combined data, wherein said combined data is a result of combining at least one of the presentations with data for displaying at least a portion of one of said corresponding instances, the at least one presentation including at least one network link for identifying another presentation related to said at least one presentation, said network link associated with a corresponding one or more locations on a display of the at least one presentation, wherein a user input indicative of at least one of said locations activates said network link for presenting said another presentation;
• wherein for at least one of the users, for determining the at least one presentation, a comparison is performed, after the instance of the game is activated, between the predetermined personal information for the at least one user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the at least one presentation;
• wherein the combined data is (a) transmitted on the communications network in response to a user interaction by the at least one user with the instance of the game, and (b) the advertising and the at least one portion therein are presented concurrently at an Internet accessible node from which the at least one user plays the instance of the game;
• means for receiving data transmitted by the communications network by at least one of the users, wherein said data transmitted by the at least one user is related to one or more responses by the user to at least one of said presentations presented to the user;
• and
• means for selecting a second of said presentations for transmitting to the at least one user, wherein said means for selecting uses said data for determining said second presentation.

A method of advertising on the Internet, comprising:

• communicating with an Internet accessible user node by a first Internet accessible node having computational equipment operably connected to the Internet to communicate data for advertising to the Internet accessible user node;
• wherein for the step of communicating the following are performed:
• (a) an activation of an interactive service available at the first Internet accessible node via a first Internet connection for communication with the Internet accessible user node;
• (b) a presentation of a first presentation, via the Internet, at said Internet accessible user node for displaying to a user during Internet interactions between the user and the service, wherein said first presentation corresponds to a portion of the data for advertising, and said first presentation identifies at least one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service;
• and wherein there is no user input for purposefully displaying the first presentation to the user;
• wherein the first presentation is substantially unrelated to a performance of the service by the user;
• wherein there are periodic changes of advertising displayed on the user node, the periodic changes are not in response to a user purposefully requesting the periodic changes, and wherein the advertising displayed corresponds to the data for advertising, and wherein for each user input, UI, for communicating with the service such that the UI is provided prior to at least one of the periodic changes, the at least one periodic change is provided at a different time from a display change at the user node resulting from the user input UI;
• wherein each change of the periodic changes is displayed independently of a state of the user's interactions with the interactive service;
• (c) a transmission of data, via an Internet communication, indicative of an action by the user in response to said first presentation;
• (d) a receipt of, via the Internet, a second presentation for presenting to the user, wherein said second presentation is determined using said data from the transmission, said second presentation also identifying one of a purchasable product and a purchasable service;
• and
• (e) a presentation to the user of said second presentation during the first Internet connection.

A method of providing a presentation on a network, comprising:

• providing access to a persistent user data repository having predetermined personal information for each of a plurality of users;
• providing access to a persistent advertising data repository having, for each advertiser of a plurality of advertisers, predetermined user selection data for selecting users to present thereto advertising for the advertiser, said predetermined user selection data including data defining one or more characteristics of users for determining whether the advertising is to be presented to the users;
• subsequently performing, for each user of the users, the following steps (1) through (6) following;
• (1) providing, via a first network node, a user node with a connection to the network;
• wherein the network is accessible via the connection for allowing the user to navigate to a plurality of nodes of the network using the user node;
• (2) activating a network service accessible at the first network node, via the network, wherein one or more interactive service presentations are presented to the user during an activation of the network service by the user node from which the user accesses the network, and an interactive content is provided by at least one of said service presentations, said content provided by the service;
• (3) receiving, at the first network node and during the activation of the network service, network transmissions from the user node for one or more interactions between the user and said interactive service presentations in response to said interactive content;
• (4) responding, by the first network node, with a response to at least one of said network transmissions prior to receiving at least one subsequent one of said network transmissions from the user, wherein the response includes combined data, the combined data is a result of combining data for the interactive content, and data for an advertising content of at least one advertising presentation;
• (5) determining, prior to the step of responding, the at least one advertising presentation from a plurality of advertising presentations wherein said advertising presentations are used for presenting to the user information about at least one of a product and a service, and wherein said at least one advertising presentation includes network link data for identifying another presentation related to said at least one advertising presentation, said network link data associated with a corresponding one or more positions on a display of said at least one advertising presentation;
• wherein for determining the at least one advertising presentation, a comparison is performed between the predetermined personal information for the user in the user data repository and the predetermined user selection data for the advertiser corresponding to the at least one advertising presentation;
• wherein the at least one advertising presentation is determined by determining a correspondence between user input transmitted, via the network, to the first network node, and advertiser associated information for identifying users to which advertising is to be presented;
• (6) providing, for display concurrently with a display of at least some said interactive content of the service presentations at the user node, said at least one advertising presentation, wherein a display of said at least one advertising presentation is activated for providing said another presentation to the user when the user provides an input identifying one of said one or more positions on a display of said at least one advertising presentation, and wherein said interactive content is unaffected by which of said advertising presentations is identified in said step of determining as said at least one advertising presentation;
• wherein one or more of the advertising presentations are at least intermittently displayed on the user node.