Patent issued for localization of Internet users

US firm Digital Envoy has been granted a patent on June 29 to detect the geographical location of an Internet user. The method described involves "determining if the host is on-line, determining ownership of the host name, and then determining the route taken in delivering packets to the user."

The company states that identified geographic information could be collected, may be stored in a central location or will "at least partially" be located on a web site.

While the idea of locating Internet users first might hint towards criminal investigation, Digital Envoy explains, how the technology could be used to create user profiles which allows web sites to "target content, advertising, or route traffic depending upon the geographic locations of their visitors," the abstract reads.