Speak and you shall receive

Several startups and major tech corporations are entering the market for
telephone-based Internet access, or voice portals. The technology is
improving and booming, say industry analysts, who predict the annual worth of
the voice-portal market could be $12 billion by 2005. Users call a voice
portal and request news or information. Voice-recognition software analyzes
the request and then sends it to the main computer to be processed. Analysts
expect voice portals to succeed because most people have access to a phone,
whereas many people still do not have Internet access, but critics wonder
whether voice portals will be fast enough to please customers. Several
corporations, including America Online and Sprint, have recently bought or
acquired stakes in voice-recognition software firms, leading analysts to
believe they are preparing their own voice portals. (Wall Street Journal,
September 18, 2000)