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This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing network support for voice-activated mobile web browsing for audio data streams. More particularly, the presently described embodiments are directed to enhancing an existing wireless network to provide hands-free web browsing to retrieve

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing network support for voice-activated mobile web browsing for audio data streams. More particularly, the presently described embodiments are directed to enhancing an existing wireless network to provide hands-free web browsing to retrieve audio data. This allows wireless customers to make verbal web requests, (e.g., not requiring the use of hands), thus making it possible to request web audio programs while engaging in other activities, such as safely driving their vehicles.

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We claim: 1. A method for supporting voice-activated browsing for audio data streams in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving, at a switching module, an audio request comprising input voice data for voice-activated web browsing from a mobile device of a subscriber; validating, at an

We claim: 1. A method for supporting voice-activated browsing for audio data streams in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving, at a switching module, an audio request comprising input voice data for voice-activated web browsing from a mobile device of a subscriber; validating, at an Internet gateway, the audio request; converting, by a speech recognition module, the input voice data to input text data; determining, by the Internet gateway, if the input text data corresponds to a pre-defined web site; connecting, at the Internet gateway, the mobile device of the subscriber to the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto; receiving, at a web interface, first audio data streams of a web-based audio program from the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto; providing, by the web interface, the first audio data streams of the web-based audio program to the mobile device of the subscriber; providing, by the internet gateway, the input text data to an audio web search engine if the input text data does not correspond to the pre-defined web site; configuring, by the audio web search engine, a search request based on the input text data; conducting, by the audio web search engine, a search for second audio data streams of the web-based audio program based on the search request; and, providing, by the audio web search engine, results of the search to the mobile device of the subscriber. 2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the determining comprises accessing a database. 3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein conducting the search comprises conducting the search based on file extensions. 4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein providing the results comprises providing the second audio data streams of the web-based audio program to the mobile device of the subscriber. 5. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein providing the results comprises providing a listing of located web sites to the mobile device of the subscriber. 6. The method as set forth in claim 5 wherein the listing is an audio listing. 7. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising, in the absence of the audio request, retrieving the first audio data streams of the web-based audio program based upon predetermined criteria and providing the first audio data streams to the mobile device of the subscriber. 8. A system for supporting voice-activated browsing for audio data streams in a wireless network, the system comprising: means for receiving an audio request comprising input voice data for voice-activated web browsing from a mobile device of a subscriber; means for validating, by an internet gateway, the audio request; means for converting the input voice data into input text data; means for determining, by the internet gateway, if the input text data corresponds to a pre-defined web site; means for connecting, by the internet gateway, the mobile device of the subscriber to the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto; means for receiving first audio data streams of a web-based audio program from the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto; means for providing the first audio data streams of the web-based audio program to the mobile device of the subscriber; means for providing, by the internet gateway, the input text data to an audio search engine if the input text data does not correspond to the pre-defined web site; means for configuring a search request based on the input text data; means for conducting a search for second audio data streams of the web-based audio program streams based on the search request; and, means for providing results of the search to the mobile device of the subscriber. 9. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the means for determining comprises a database. 10. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the means for conducting the search comprises means for conducting the search based on file extensions. 11. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the means for providing the results comprises means for providing the second audio data streams of the web-based audio program to the mobile device of the subscriber. 12. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the means for providing the results comprises means for providing a listing of located web sites to the mobile device of the subscriber. 13. The system as set forth in claim 12 wherein the listing is an audio listing. 14. The system as set forth in claim 8 further comprising a means for retrieving the first audio data streams based upon predetermined criteria, in the absence of the audio request, and means for providing the first audio data streams of the web-based audio program to the mobile device of the subscriber. 15. A system for supporting voice-activated browsing for audio data streams in a wireless network, the system comprising: a switching module operative to receive an audio request comprising input voice data for voice-activated web browsing from a mobile device of a subscriber; a speech recognition unit operative to convert the input voice data to input text data; an internet gateway operative to validate the audio request, wherein the internet gateway is further operative to determine if the input text data corresponds to a pre-defined web site, wherein the internet gateway is further operative to connect the mobile device of the subscriber to the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto, wherein the internet gateway is further operative to provide the input text data to an audio search engine if the input text data does not correspond to the pre-defined web site; a web interface operative to receive first audio data streams of the web-based audio program from the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto; and, an audio web search engine operative to configure a search request based on the input text data and conduct a search for second audio data streams of the web-based audio program based on the search request. 16. The system as set forth in claim 15 wherein the internet gateway is further operative to provide the first audio data streams of the web-based audio program to the mobile device of the subscriber and provide the results of the search for second audio streams to the mobile device of the subscriber. 17. The system as set forth in claim 15 further comprising a database operative to store information relating to pre-defined web sites. 18. The system as set forth in claim 15 wherein the results comprise second audio data streams of the web-based audio program to be provided to the mobile device of the subscriber. 19. The system as set forth in claim 15 wherein the results comprise a listing of located web sites. 20. The system as set forth in claim 15 further comprising a subscriber web alert manager operative, in the absence of the audio request, to retrieve first audio data streams of the web-based audio program based upon predetermined criteria and provide the first audio data streams to the mobile device of the subscriber. 21. A method for supporting voice-activated browsing for audio data streams in a wireless network, the method comprising: validating, at an Internet gateway, an audio request received at a switching module, wherein the audio request comprises input voice data for voice-activated web browsing from a mobile device of a subscriber; determining, by the Internet gateway, if input text data corresponds to a pre-defined web site, wherein the input text data is based on the input voice data; connecting, at the Internet gateway, the mobile device of the subscriber to the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto, wherein the pre-defined web site streams first audio data streams of a web-based audio program to the mobile subscriber; and providing, by the Internet gateway, the input text data to an audio web search engine if the input text data does not correspond to the pre-defined web site. 22. The method of claim 21, the method further comprises: configuring, by the audio web search engine, a search request by the search engine based on the input text data; conducting, by the audio web search engine, a search for second audio data streams of the web-based audio program based on the search request; and, providing by the audio web search engine, results of the search to the mobile device of the subscriber. 23. A system for supporting voice-activated browsing for audio data streams in a wireless network, the system comprising: an internet gateway operative to validate an audio request, wherein the audio request comprises input voice data for voice-activated web browsing, wherein the internet gateway is further operative to determine if input text data, based on the input voice data, corresponds to a pre-defined web site, wherein the internet gateway is further operative to connect the mobile device of the subscriber to the pre-defined web site if the input text data corresponds thereto, wherein the internet gateway is further operative to provide the input text data to an audio search engine if the input text data does not correspond to the pre-defined web site, wherein the pre-defined web site streams first audio data streams of the web-based audio program if the input text data corresponds thereto. 24. The system of claim 23, further comprising: an audio web search engine operative to configure a search request based on the input text data and conduct a search for second audio data streams of the web-based audio program based on the search request.