E-mail for everyone - anywhere, anytime

Leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) World Online has set e-mail - and e-mail users - free from the restrictions of desktop and notebook PCs.

Using SpeechMail powered by UK-based Vocalis, World Online makes it possible for everyone to receive, delete and reply to e-mail anywhere, anytime from any type of telephone.

"You don`t need to own or have access to a PC. Indeed, you don`t even need an expensive WAP cellular phone which enables you to browse the Internet," says Graeme Victor, MD of World Online.

"Thanks to the latest advances in speech recognition and cutting edge Text-to-Speech technology, World Online SpeechMail users can now communicate by e-mail from a callbox, their home phone or any type of cellular phone from anywhere in the world.

"And it`s remarkably simple to use. World Online SpeechMail`s advanced voice recognition ability enables users to speak to the system, rather than having to remember complicated touch tone commands. This hands-free functionality means users can even deal with their e-mail while driving.

"There`s also a `talkover` feature which allows users to speed up the call, or to interrupt the system and tell it what they want it to do next without waiting for it to finish speaking," he adds.

According to .... at Vocalis, SpeechMail was an immediate hit when launched in Europe. In the UK, for example, 25% of British Telecom`s customer base adopted SpeechMail within weeks of its introduction there.

WorldOnline, Icon, YeboNet! and GIA subscribers who already have an e-mail address don`t have to go through the inconvenience of changing it - and informing all their regular correspondents of the change - or the expense of purchasing any special hardware or software to benefit from SpeechMail.

"The new SpeechMail service is free with their standard monthly Internet subscription and they can start using it immediately. For new subscribers to World Online, SpeechMail is bundled with their first month`s free Internet access.

"And for individuals who just want an e-mail address and the SpeechMail service, with no other kind of Internet access, the charge is just R65 per month. Another option is our subscription-free PAYU e-mail account which users access through our 082-POP, paying only for the calls made to their e-mail box at standard cellular phone rates," Victor adds.

How World Online SpeechMail works

Existing and new World Online, Icon, GIA and YeboNet! Internet subscribers will be assigned a unique Account and PIN number with the telephone number they must dial to access their e-mail through SpeechMail.

Non-PC users, or those who don`t want general Internet access, can subscribe to World Online SpeechMail by calling 0800 005656.

Once registered with World Online SpeechMail, users can access their e-mail by calling the number they were assigned from any phone. Calls to this number are charged at standard national cellphone rates.

The system then takes the user through the following steps:

It will ask the user to enter an Account and PIN number. The user can use touch-tone keypad on the phone to do this.

This will be followed by a greeting and the users will the told how many messages are in the mailbox. The system will begin by listing the message headers, detailing the sender, date of sending and subject.

By speaking commands such as "play", "delete", "reply", "next", "previous", "review", "change message" or "cancel", the user can navigate the message list and play, delete, repeat or reply to messages. The system`s sophisticated Text-To-Speech synthesis enables it to read the e-mail message to the user. The system also notifies the user of any attachments to the messages, but cannot read them unless they are `sound` attachments.

Replying to an e-mail is also handled verbally. The reply is sent as a sound file (.WAV file) which means the recipient must have a multimedia-ready PC - or can use World Online SpeechMail to access the reply.