US Patent 7698433 User aliases in communication system

A technique is disclosed in the context of a communications system whereby parties accessible through the system may be referenced by multiple alternative symbolic names. User profile information for a given party may be maintained in the system to control features and routing behavior in response to session request involing the party. By virtue of a mapping capability, one or more symbolic names may be associated with the same user profile information. A session request involving any of the alternative names for a party will evoke the same user profile.