METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRESENCE NOTIFICATION, PRESENCE NOTIFICATION PROCESSING PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM WHERE THE SAME PROGRAM IS RECORDED

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for presence notification that enable the presence of the whole network participating group to be referred to, a presence notification processing program, and a recording medium where the program is recorded. SOLUTION: The presence notification device employs a featured constitution means having a member terminal user information acquisition part 11 which obtains member presence information reported from member terminals 3a, 3b, and 3c through a communication network 2, a group presence information arithmetic part 12 which computes group presence information on the whole network participating group 3 according to the member presence information, a group presence registration pat 13 which registers the group presence information in a presence management database 5, and a group presence information public opening part 16 which reads out the group presence information on the network participating group 3 registered in the database 5 and informs a participant's terminal 4 of the read group presence information through the communication network 2. Group presence information on the whole network participating group that respective member terminal users belong to is newly defined and a referring person terminal user can easily refer to the presence of the network participating group at a glance from outside the group. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI