Organizational modeling using virtual agents and virtual communities

The concepts of virtual agents and virtual communities are introduced. Based on these concepts, a remote procedure dispatching (RPD) scheme and an ambassador model are proposed. While virtual agents and virtual communities are images of remote agents dynamically created and maintained by a local agent as computer network domain objects, the RPD scheme supplements remote procedure call by allowing remote procedures to be dispatched to remote sites, and the ambassador model allows an image or an ambassador of an agent to be dispatched to remote hosts. Then, the virtual agents can be organized into virtual communities for coordination purposes. The major advantages of this approach lies in its flexibility for agent-oriented unilateral protocol selection and protocol change. Thus, it provides a supplement to the client-server model for organizational modeling. A prototype design and implementation are presented. The basic ideas are illustrated with an example in information retrieval and business administration