Multimedia features in the correspondents´ interface of MALL2000 systems

MALL2000 systems are intended to support businessmen, the correspondents, in their day-to-day tasks for establishing business relations on an international level. Tasks considered are based on handling “multimedia documents”, allowing flexible group activities. All services offered by a correspondent to the partners are provided in a uniform fashion in a peer-to-peer structure, realized on the World Wide Web. The paper covers principal aspects and design approaches for correspondents´ interfaces. They are “document-centred”, relying on an advanced concept of what “multimedia” features offer for business-to-business applications. Previous work (Hot...-framework) is the starting point for work under the MALL2000 project and is discussed in the context of a broader approach of an electronic commerce approach. The Hot...-framework allows easy inclusion of hierarchically structured and possibly self-active multimedia parts into a business document