WO2002033622A1

WO2002033622A1 - Network-based voucher system

Info

Publication number: WO2002033622A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/031463
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joseph S. Tung
Original assignee: Hellobrain.Com
Priority date: 2000-10-17
Filing date: 2001-10-09
Publication date: 2002-04-25
Also published as: WO2002033622A9; AU2002211531A1

Abstract

A system and method for operating a computer service using electronic vouchers having an identification code. Reference information regarding the voucher is stored in a central database (400), and the voucher is distributed (202) to a delegate (106) who redistributes (204) the voucher to an end user (104) according to certain desired user criteria. The recipient of the voucher uses the voucher to access the computer service (301). The voucher and the user undergo an authentication and validation procedure (303, 304) to ensure that the voucher was redistributed properly and through authorized channels. The user's activities on the computer service are recorded, and the vouchers are used to analyze and track the delegate's performance (307) in redistributing vouchers to desirable users. Delegates whose voucher distributions successfully recruit desirable users can be rewarded (310).

Description

NETWORK-BASED VOUCHER SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the use of a network- based voucher system. In particular, this invention relates to the use of delegates and vouchers for obtaining new users to a network-based computer system and for controlling the access of those users to the computer system.

Description of Related Art

Computer services provided over global computer networks have become increasingly prevalent. However, providing open access to a computer service may result in an unwanted overload of data and user activity. In a virtual discussion group, for example, if all users are allowed to post messages freely, there may be a flood of irrelevant or undesirable postings to the group. For this reason, it may be desirable to create barriers to entry for the computer service .

Various methods have been used to restrict user access to computer services. One popular method utilizes user ID' s and passwords to authenticate a user's identity before granting that user access to the content or services available on a particular website. While this method is effective for authenticating users for subsequent visits to that website, it does not effectively provide restrictions on the users' initial visit to the site because at that point the users have not yet obtained user IDs. Typically, on the initial visit to a website, a user must complete a registration form before receiving a user ID and password. This registration form may require the user to enter personal information, such as an address, telephone number, social security number, and credit card number. In some cases, the information entered is stored on a computer database and the user is granted a new user ID and immediate access to the website. This method does not provide any barrier to entry: it simply records information about the user before making the site's services available to the user. In other cases, the personal information entered by the user is cross-referenced with personal information about the user already stored on the computer database. If the information entered matches the information already possessed, then a new user ID is granted. This method is used when the computer service and the user already have an existing relationship and are simply extending the relationship to the Internet. Such a relationship exists, for example, between financial institutions and their customers. Without the preexisting relationship, the computer database can only obtain information about the new user from the new user's self-entered information.

Alternatively, requiring an up-front monetary payment or credit authorization can be used as a barrier to entry. When registering unknown new users, many Internet content providers require that the user enter a credit card number upon initial registration with the site. Once the content provider obtains the credit card number, the provider can allow the user access to its website and have a certain level of assurance that it will obtain payment for any fee-based transactions in which the user partakes. A disadvantage of this method is that this financial requirement provides only a single barrier to entry. No other criteria are considered.

One method for attracting new users to a website involves the distribution of electronic "coupons" via electronic mail ("e-mail") or websites. These coupons can be used at the provider' s website to obtain discounts on online purchases. These coupons may include a short identification code that a user will be prompted to enter before completing the purchase. After the user enters the coupon code, the server at the website uses this code to determine the appropriate discount to give to the user. However, this coupon code is not used to determine access rights to a network nor does it provide information about the user. Instead, it is used in much the same way as a paper coupon in that it can be easily transferred and used by anyone without regard for the identity of the possessor or the route through which the possessor obtained the coupon . Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method for providing access for a new user to computer services over a network. In particular, there is a need for a method of discriminating between desirable and undesirable users .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and method for operating a computer service. This is accomplished by generating an electronic voucher including an identification code and distributing the electronic voucher to a first delegate. The first delegate is granted rights to distribute a second electronic voucher including a second identification code to a recipient . The second electronic voucher is then received from the recipient and validated to determine access of the recipient to the computer service. The recipient is then granted access to selected portions of the computer service. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a computer system for distributing and tracking electronic vouchers is provided. The system includes a server computer connected to a computer network, one or more client computers also connected to the computer network, and a computer program executed by the server computer. The computer program includes computer instructions for: generating a first electronic voucher including a first identification code; distributing the first electronic voucher to a first delegate; granting the first delegate rights to distribute a second electronic voucher including a second identification code to a recipient; receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient; validating the second electronic voucher to determine access of the recipient to the computer service; and granting the recipient access to selected portions of the computer service .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a server, a user computer and a delegate computer connected via a network.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a series of vouchers in accordance to some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 5 is a graphical illustration of a voucher distribution system in accordance to some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a server 100 connected to a user computer 104 and a delegate computer 106 via a network 102, wherein data is transferred between server 100 and computer 104 via the network 102. Network 102 can be a global area network, such as the Internet, or in another embodiment can be an internal intranet . Server 100, user computer 104, and delegate computer 106 can be general purpose or special purpose computers. Server 100 controls access of a recipient at user computer 104 to a computer service over network 102.

As discussed above, it is often desirable to create a qualified barrier to entry for all new users of a computer service. However, this desire to limit entry must also be balanced with the desire to encourage and facilitate desirable traffic and activity on the service. Thus, the barrier created should not overly burden the user or overzealously screen otherwise desirable candidates. In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, an electronic voucher is used to control access to a computer service over a network. A computer service suitable for use in the present invention is described in co-pending application, "Empathic Validation — A Method for Securing Digital Assets," serial no. 09/494,792, filed January 31, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In this embodiment, a solution broker provides a website computer service to connect or match a solution shopper to a solution provider. The solution provider is a person or entity that possesses digital assets. These digital assets are desired by one or more solution shoppers . A process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 2. In step 201, an electronic voucher including an identification code is generated by server 100. In step 202, the voucher is distributed to a delegate at delegate computer 106. This distribution can be performed via e-mail, or the delegate may directly access the computer service to retrieve the voucher over the network 102.

This voucher can be in any number of forms, including an ASCII text file containing an alphanumerical identification code, a text file encoded with an error/temporary detection algorithm (e.g., checksun, MD5) , an executable file containing identification code information, and a Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") which can act as a hypertext link to a custom-defined sign-in page on the computer service' s website. In one example, the identification code of the voucher contains a ten-digit delegate information portion, identifying the delegate who initially received the voucher. There may also be a recipient information portion, which can be pre-set at the time the voucher is generated, or can be added by the delegate or recipient at the time of redistribution. One of the delegate's functions is to act as an agent to redistribute the electronic vouchers to other recipients, granting those recipients access to the computer service. In step 203, reference information about the voucher is stored in a dispersal tree, as will be described in greater detail below. This reference information may contain information about the delegate, the voucher limitations, and other data which will assist in identifying and validating the voucher. The distribution of the voucher to the delegate is also recorded in the dispersal tree such that as the voucher is copied and/or distributed to other recipients, its origin can be tracked back to the delegate who initially received the voucher. The voucher is then redistributed by the delegate to a recipient in step 204.

In some embodiments, when the voucher is initially distributed to the delegate in step 202, the delegate is informed of redistribution restrictions for that voucher. This is particularly important where the voucher is a simple text file that is easy to copy, yet widely distributed. The delegate may, for example, be restricted to redistributing the voucher to recipients within a particular organization. Alternatively, the delegate may be provided with a list of required qualifications for the recipients, such as an expertise in a certain area. If the computer service wishes to increase the use of its service by engineers possessing a doctorate in electrical engineering, the service would issue vouchers to delegates instructing them to redistribute those vouchers to only those recipients that meet certain qualifications. In another embodiment, the voucher is sold to the recipient, or the recipient must submit a credit card number or otherwise demonstrate an ability to pay for charges accrued on the computer service.

In step 205, the delegate transmits information back to the computer service regarding the recipient to whom the delegate has redistributed the voucher. In step 206, this user information is stored in the dispersal tree and used to validate a voucher later submitted by a user trying to access the computer service. For example, the delegate may transmit a message to the computer service informing the service that vouchers have been delivered to users X, Y, and Z, and the delegate may provide identification information about those users, such as their names, addresses, social security numbers, or employee identification numbers. This information is stored and cross- referenced with the identification code of the voucher which had been provided to that delegate. When the recipient of the voucher (the user) attempts to use the voucher to gain access to the computer system, this information will be used to validate the voucher, as described in more detail below.

Steps 204 and 205 may be performed by the delegate using an interface of a web-based computer service. For example, the delegate can log into the computer service, where the delegate's identity can be confirmed. Next, the delegate can submit the desired recipient's e-mail address and personal information to the computer service using the web-based interface, and instruct the computer service to transmit an electronic voucher directly to the recipient . The distribution information related to the voucher may be stored in a dispersal tree for later analysis. The dispersal tree can take any form, but in some embodiments is a relational database or table which stores information about the delegates who receive the voucher and the recipients who receive the vouchers from the delegates. This information may include, but is not limited to the identity of the delegates, the identity of the delegates' organizations, the date of distribution to the delegate, the limitations and restrictions associated with the voucher, and the identity of the recipient who receives the voucher from the delegate, the identity of the recipient's organization. The dispersal tree may also store relationship information which defines the relationship between the delegate and the recipient. This relationship may include information regarding how the delegate and the recipient first contacted each other and the circumstances under which the delegate provided the recipient with the voucher. Various other types of information may also be stored. The use of the dispersal tree will be described in more detail below and an embodiment of dispersal tree 400 is illustrated in FIG. 4. In some embodiment, the delegate may be given rights as an "Administrator," which enables the delegate to create other delegates to serve as "Agents." These agent delegates can, in turn, distribute electronic vouchers to potential users. In such a case, either the original delegate or the computer service may inform the agent delegates of limitations and restrictions regarding the transferability of the voucher. These limitations and restrictions may be identical to those placed on the first administrator delegate, or additional limitations may be placed on the new agent delegate. All of the redistribution information can be also stored in the dispersal tree. In some embodiments, different levels of security may be associated with different vouchers. For example, at the highest level of security, the voucher is valid for a single use and cannot be transferred to any third party. At an intermediate level of security, however, a voucher may be transferred and re-used freely amongst the members of an organization, but cannot be transferred to any other party outside of the targeted organization. At a low level of security, the voucher may be transferred and re-used by any third party found suitable by the original recipient of the voucher.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the log-in for a new user to the computer service. The user may have received the voucher from a delegate, as described above with respect to FIG. 2, or it may also possible for the first administrator delegate to pass the voucher to a second agent delegate, who then passes the electronic voucher to the user, as described above. In step 301, the user accesses the computer service via the web, direct dial-up connection, or other computer network.

In step 302, the user submits the electronic voucher to the computer service. Various methods may be used to ensure that the vouchers submitted by users are authentic and properly authorized. In addition, encryption technology can be used to encrypt the voucher. In such a case, the identification code of the voucher includes a key code portion containing one or more key codes. Another way in which the voucher could be encrypted is by taking information regarding the user, deriving a hash value from that information, and inserting this value into a hash value portion of the identification code.

In some embodiments, a static bit pattern is introduced into the identification code, whereby certain designated bits within the identification code are required to have a certain value. In yet another embodiment, a dynamic bit pattern is used in which a certain designated bit or bits will be assigned a value based on other bits within the identification code. For example, the last five bits in the identification code may be given the value of the sum of the first five bits in the code.

Some embodiments of the present invention utilize the user's browser and/or any intermediary process

(executed on the client computer, the server computer, or even another computer) that are used to interface the server and the user' s computer to assist in the authentication of the voucher. When the user visits the computer service's website, an authentication program is transmitted to the user's computer in the form of, for example, a Java applet. The Java applet is in turn executed by the user' s browser to confirm that the user' s voucher meets a specified set of constraints. These constraints may include the static and dynamic bit patterns described above, or may check an "expiration date" included in the voucher to determine whether the use of the voucher has exceeded a predetermined time limit. In situations where the voucher is in the form of an URL, accessing the computer service and submitting of the voucher occur simultaneously when the user uses the URL to access the computer service. In step 303, the reference information corresponding to the identification code in the submitted voucher is retrieved. If there is no reference information corresponding to the voucher's identification code, the voucher is deemed to be false or corrupted. If there is valid reference information corresponding to the voucher's identification code, the voucher is properly authenticated and the user can be given immediate access to the computer service, or may proceed into a user validation process, step 304. In step 304, the user is prompted to enter registration information that corresponds to the reference information on a central database for the computer service. As described above, when the voucher is provided to the user by the delegate, the delegate transmits a message to the computer service providing identification information about the user, such as the user's name, address, social security number, or employee identification number. Alternatively, the identification code portion of the voucher itself may contain user information, possibly in encrypted form. Validation includes prompting the user to enter the identification information, and comparing the user's response to the identification information provided by the delegate or located within the voucher. In the case in which the vouchers were to be distributed to users possessing a particular background or expertise, the validation process may simply comprise confirming the user's expertise in the desired area. Other validation procedures may be used, such as the use of passwords, requiring that the user provide the delegate's name or other identification information, or checking an expiration date of the voucher to demonstrate that the user received the voucher through authorized channels.

After the user has successfully completed the validation procedure, the user in step 305 is granted access to the computer service and may then proceed through a complete registration process where additional information about the user is obtained by the computer service. After the initial registration, the voucher can be discarded, but the information associated with the voucher can be utilized by the computer service for all of the user' s activities on that service.

In some embodiments, targeted advertisements are displayed to the user based on the user's background information used for distributing the voucher. Since the voucher are distributed in a targeted fashion based on the user's expertise, the advertisements can be effectively directed towards a highly specialized audience taking advantage of the background information already associated with the voucher.

In some embodiments, the user's access to the computer service is limited based on the voucher used. Using as an example the computer service described in co-pending application, "Empathic Validation -- A Method for Securing Digital Assets," the voucher may grant a solution shopper rights to post a limited number of requests. Alternatively, where the voucher is distributed to targeted solution providers, the voucher may grant the user the ability to search and respond to requests for digital assets, while preventing the user from posting requests as a solution shopper. In other embodiments, the user is limited to a certain area of the computer service or is given a time limit on the computer service. The user may be provided with a monetary budget for the user' s activities on the computer service. The user is then free to take advantage of the various fee-based activities on the service until that budget is depleted, at which time the user will begin paying for the services or will be removed from the computer service. These techniques can be used to attract qualified or otherwise desirable users to the computer service, and to provide them with free testing of its services. Numerous adaptations and variations are possible .

Another aspect of the present invention relates to step 306, the recording of information regarding each user's activity on the computer service, and step 307, the tracking and analyzing of the performance of the voucher recipients from a particular delegate. As described above, the delegate may be provided with vouchers and given certain guidelines and/or targets for the desired types of recipients of these vouchers. Through the use of effective targeting of voucher recipients, the computer service can avoid dealing with undesirable users. Using the solution shopper example above, an undesirable solution shopper may be one who posts unwanted advertising, also known as "spamming," on the service, and an undesirable solution provider may be one who repeatedly offers poor quality digital assets for sale or conducts business in an unethical fashion. An undesirable user may simply be one who takes advantage of the free services available on the computer service without participating in revenue- generating activities. As can be seen from these examples, depending on the application, the criteria for identifying an undesirable user can differ dramatically. Thus, conventional methods for limiting access to computer services are ineffective where the determining criteria are complex or multifaceted.

In accordance with the present invention, the criteria for what constitutes "desirable" and "undesirable" conduct are identified, and the user activity on the computer service is tracked for that conduct. In step 308, a performance evaluation is generated based on that tracked conduct . Different types of conduct may weigh more heavily on the "undesirable" scale than others, and the performance evaluation accurately reflects the severity of the user's misconduct. Similarly, some conduct is more desirable than others, and the performance evaluation indicates such relative differences in desirable conduct as well .

Because each user enters the computer service using a voucher, it is possible to track the performance of the delegates in terms of their success in distributing the vouchers to desirable users by recording this information in the dispersal tree. As described above, the dispersal tree contains information regarding the initial distribution of the voucher to the delegate. The dispersal tree can also contain information regarding any further redistribution of the voucher as well as information about the user who ultimately uses the voucher to access the computer service and information about that user's activities on the computer service. In step 309, the distribution information relating to a particular voucher is cross-referenced in the dispersal tree to identify all parties who were involved in providing the voucher to the end user.

This information can be retrieved such that the complete history and performance of a particular delegate can be reviewed. In the dispersal tree, the information about a delegate is stored as a "branch" in the tree, and all of the information relating to each of the vouchers distributed to that particular delegate is stored as "leaves" to that branch. Each "leaf" can relate to one particular voucher distributed to that delegate, and may contain information regarding the desirable or undesirable performance of the user of that voucher on the computer service. Any branch can also include sub-branches, which occurs when a delegate redistributes the voucher to another delegate. The second delegate's history and performance is recorded in the dispersal tree as described above with respect to the first delegate, and the second delegate's information is also as a part of the first delegate's performance and history.

In FIG. 4, a series of vouchers having serial numbers 000100-000103 have been distributed to John Delegate, and the distribution and redistribution information are stored in a first table 402. Table 402 indicates that the distribution of voucher number

000100 is limited to a user possessing a Ph.D., and has been passed to Jane Recipient, a co-worker of John Delegate. Table 402 is then linked to second table 404, which contains information regarding Jane Recipient. Table 404 contains a Performance Score for Jane Recipient, which is used to calculate the Performance Score for John Delegate. Table 402 also indicates that the voucher number

000101 has been redistributed to Jack Recipient, whose information is contained in third table 406, which is linked with John Delegate's table 402. Table 406 indicates that Jack Recipient then redistributed voucher number 000101 to Jill Recipient. Jill

Recipient's distribution and performance information is stored in fourth table 408, which is a "branch" of third table 406, and third table 406 is a "branch" of first table 402. FIG. 4 also shows that the table entries for each recipient may be different, depending on the recipient and the type of information which the computer service wishes to track.

FIG. 5 is a graphical illustration of the voucher distribution recorded in tables 402, 404, 406, 408. John Delegate at workstation 502 connects with server 100 through network 102 and receives four vouchers. One voucher is distributed from workstation 502 to Jane Recipient at workstation 504, Jeff Recipient at workstation 506, and Jack Recipient at workstation 508. The vouchers at workstations 504 and 506 are used to access server 100 through network 102. However, workstation 508 does not use the voucher to access server 100. Instead, workstation 508 passes the voucher to Jill Recipient at workstation 510, who then uses the voucher to access server 100.

In step 310, rewards or commissions for a delegate can be assessed based on the amount of profit generated by the recipients of that delegate's vouchers, or on the overall conduct of those recipients. Conversely, it is also possible to penalize delegates whose recipients receive poor performance evaluations. These penalties may take the form of reduced commissions or complete revocation of the delegate' s voucher- distributing responsibilities.

Another use of the tracking comprises reporting the user's activity on the computer service to the delegate or to an organization affiliated with the delegate or the user. This provides the delegate and the user's organization with valuable feedback as to how well their voucher recipients are performing. This feedback can then be utilized by the delegate to improve its marketing approach or to otherwise adjust its redistribution methods. This reporting can also be used to foster competition among organizations. For example, the performance evaluations from all of the users associated with a particular organization can be tallied and distributed to that organization, as well as to competing organizations. Incentives may be provided to each organization to achieve superior performance evaluations than its competition.

The information obtained by utilizing the voucher can also be used to target the user to particular products and services on the computer service. For example, the reference information associated with a voucher may indicate that the user works in a particular field. When that voucher is used, the computer service automatically directs the user to a portion of the computer service directed to that field. Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, the description is only an example of the invention's application and should not be taken as a limitation. In particular, even though much of preceding discussion referenced co- pending application, "Empathic Validation -- A Method for Securing Digital Assets," the present invention can be utilized in numerous other applications. Various other adaptations and combinations of features of the embodiments disclosed are within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS : I claim:

1. A method for operating a computer service, the method comprising: generating a first electronic voucher including a first identification code; distributing the first electronic voucher to a first delegate; granting the first delegate rights to distribute a second electronic voucher including a second identification code to a recipient; receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient ; validating the second electronic voucher to determine access of the recipient to the computer service; and granting the recipient access to selected portions of the computer service .

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said distributing the first electronic voucher to the first delegate comprises transmitting the first electronic voucher via electronic mail, the first electronic voucher being a first Uniform Resource Locator (URL) .

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: said second electronic voucher is a second URL; and said receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient comprises receiving a request from the recipient to initiate a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) session with the computer service corresponding to the second URL.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing reference information corresponding to the first identification code and the second identification code, said reference information including distribution information regarding the distribution of the first electronic voucher.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said distribution information further includes an identity of the first delegate.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising tracking the second electronic voucher by storing information regarding the receiving of the second electronic voucher from the recipient .

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tracking comprises storing identity information regarding the distributing the first electronic voucher to the first delegate and the receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient in a dispersal tree.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the tracking further comprises storing relationship information in the dispersal tree, the relationship information defining a relationship between the first delegate and the recipient .

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the validating the second electronic voucher comprises determining whether the second electronic voucher has exceeded a time limit.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the granting the recipient access to selected portions of the computer service comprises granting the recipient access and privileges for selected portions of a web- based computer service.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising distributing a computer program to a browser utilized by the recipient, the computer program written to perform a validation test of the second electronic voucher on the recipient's computer.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: maintaining a list of generated vouchers, the list indicating whether each voucher has been previously presented; wherein the validating comprises referencing said list of generated vouchers to determine whether the second electronic voucher has been previously presented.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second electronic voucher includes a series of alphanumeric characters identifying the recipient .

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the second electronic voucher includes information about an organization affiliated with the recipient.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the second identification code has not been previously generated by the computer service.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the second identification code is an error detection code.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising limiting access to the computer service by the recipient based on the second identification code.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein limiting access to the computer service includes limiting an amount of time the recipient may spend on the computer service .

19. The method of claim 17, wherein limiting access to the computer service includes providing the recipient a budget for activities on the computer service .

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking the recipient's activity on the computer service .

21. The method claim 20, further comprising generating a performance evaluation based on the recipient's activity.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising paying the first delegate a commission based on the performance evaluation.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the commission is a percentage of an amount of revenue for the computer service generated by the recipient's activity.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the commission is reduced in the event the performance evaluation of the recipient's activity is undesirable for the computer service.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising reporting the recipient's activity on the computer service to the first delegate.

26. The method of claim 20, further comprising reporting the recipient's activity on the computer service to an organization affiliated with the first delegate .

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the voucher from the first delegate to a second delegate, wherein said second delegate redistributes the voucher to the recipient.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: tracking activity of the recipient on the computer service; generating a performance evaluation of the recipient's activity on the computer service; paying the first delegate a first commission based on the performance evaluation of the recipient's activity; and paying the second delegate a second commission based on the performance evaluation of the recipient's activity.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein said second commission is a percentage of an amount of revenue for the computer service generated by the recipient's activity.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein said second commission is reduced in the event the recipient' s activity is undesirable for the computer service.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the recipient to a product on the computer service, the product being selected based on the second identification code of the second electronic voucher.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the product is selected based on the reference information corresponding to the second identification code.

33. A computer system, comprising: a server computer connected to a computer network; one or more client computers also connected to the computer network; and a computer program executable by the server computer, wherein the computer program comprises computer instructions for: generating a first electronic voucher including a first identification code; distributing the first electronic voucher to a first delegate; granting the first delegate rights to distribute a second electronic voucher including a second identification code to a recipient; receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient; validating the second electronic voucher to determine access of the recipient to the computer service; and granting the recipient access to selected portions of the computer service.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein said distributing the first electronic voucher to the first delegate comprises transmitting the first electronic voucher via electronic mail, the first electronic voucher being a first Uniform Resource Locator (URL) .

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: said second electronic voucher is a second URL; and said receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient comprises receiving a request from the recipient to initiate a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) session with the computer service corresponding to the second URL .

36. The computer system of claim 33 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: storing reference information corresponding to the first identification code and the second identification code, said reference information including distribution information regarding the distribution of the first electronic voucher.

37. The computer system of claim 36, wherein said distribution information further includes an identity of the first delegate.

38. The computer system of claim 36, wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: tracking the second electronic voucher by storing information regarding the receiving of the second electronic voucher from the recipient.

39. The computer system of claim 38, wherein the tracking comprises storing identity information regarding the distributing the first electronic voucher to the first delegate and the receiving the second electronic voucher from the recipient in a dispersal tree .

40. The computer system of claim 39, wherein the tracking further comprises storing relationship information in the dispersal tree, the relationship information defining a relationship between the first delegate and the recipient .

41. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the validating the second electronic voucher comprises determining whether the second electronic voucher has exceeded a time limit.

42. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the granting the recipient access to selected portions of the computer service comprises granting the recipient access and privileges for selected portions of a web- based computer service.

43. The computer system of claim 42 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: distributing a computer program to a browser utilized by the recipient, the computer program written to perform a validation test of the second electronic voucher on the recipient's computer.

44. The computer system of claim 33 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: maintaining a list of generated vouchers, the list indicating whether each voucher has been previously presented; wherein the validating comprises referencing said list of generated vouchers to determine whether the second electronic voucher has been previously presented.

45. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the second electronic voucher includes a series of alphanumeric characters identifying the recipient.

46. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the second electronic voucher includes information about an organization affiliated with the recipient.

47. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the second identification code has not been previously generated by the computer service.

48. The computer system of claim 33, wherein at least a portion of the second identification code is an error detection code.

49. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: limiting access to the computer service by the recipient based on the second identification code .

50. The computer system of claim 49, wherein limiting access to the computer service includes limiting an amount of time the recipient may spend on the computer service .

51. The computer system of claim 49, wherein limiting access to the computer service includes providing the recipient a budget for activities on the computer service.

52. The computer system of claim 33 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: tracking the recipient's activity on the computer service.

53. The computer system claim 52 , wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: generating a performance evaluation based on the recipient's activity.

54. The computer system of claim 53 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: paying the first delegate a commission based on the performance evaluation.

55. The computer system of claim 54, wherein the commission is a percentage of an amount of revenue for the computer service generated by the recipient' s activity.

56. The computer system of claim 54, wherein the commission is reduced in the event the performance evaluation of the recipient's activity is undesirable for the computer service.

57. The computer system of claim 52, wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: reporting the recipient' s activity on the computer service to the first delegate.

58. The computer system of claim 52 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: reporting the recipient's activity on the computer service to an organization affiliated with the first delegate.

59. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: transmitting the voucher from the first delegate to a second delegate, wherein said second delegate redistributes the voucher to the recipient .

60. The computer system of claim 59 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: tracking activity of the recipient on the computer service; generating a performance evaluation of the recipient' s activity on the computer service; paying the first delegate a first commission based on the performance evaluation of the recipient' s activity; and paying the second delegate a second commission based on the performance evaluation of the recipient's activity.

61. The computer system of claim 60, wherein said second commission is a percentage of an amount of revenue for the computer service generated by the recipient's activity.

62. The computer system of claim 60, wherein said second commission is reduced in the event the recipient's activity is undesirable for the computer service .

63. The computer system of claim 33 wherein the computer program further comprises computer instructions for: directing the recipient to a product on the computer service, the product being selected based on the second identification code of the second electronic voucher.

64. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the product is selected based on the reference information corresponding to the second identification code.

65. A method for operating a computer service, comprising : selecting an existing user of the computer service to act as a delegate; granting the delegate rights to distribute an electronic voucher including an identification code to one or more recipients; receiving the electronic voucher from one of the recipients ; validating the electronic voucher to determine access of the recipient to the computer service; and granting the recipient access and privileges for selected portions of the computer service.

66. A computer system, comprising: a server computer connected to a computer network; one or more client computers also connected to the computer network; and a computer program executed by the server computer, wherein the computer program comprises computer instructions for: selecting an existing user of the computer service to act as a delegate; granting the delegate rights to distribute an electronic voucher including an identification code to one or more recipients; receiving the electronic voucher from one of the recipients ; validating the electronic voucher to determine access of the recipient to the computer service; and granting the recipient access and privileges for selected portions of the computer service .