tler-type character," says Nick Jennings, professor of computer science at the University of Southampton's electronics and computer department. "The first day that the 'butler' comes to work, he will be very polite, as he does not know much about me. But as we begin to work together, he will become better acquainted with my preferences and will make decisions without having to consult me. The degree of autonomy I allow him is entirely up to me." Jennings believes that his research team's agent will work well with exist- ing 3G mobile networks. It will reduce the need for business travelers to carry laptop computers, since they will be able to do their computing through their phone. THE INTERNET RULES-IP TECHNOLOGIES Jennings and his team are among the U.K.'s leading artificial intelligence researchers. Earlier this year they won the ACM Autonomous Research Award in recognition of their research in the area of autonomous agents. Last year, Jenning's team developed an agent that functioned as a virtual travel agent, producing the best possible vacations based on clients' preferences, including budgets, itineraries, and cultural visits. All of the travel package's component's had to be purchased from a series of online auctions. "Here we had a scenario where artificial agents outperformed humans as they assimi- lated information much more quickly than any human could possibly operate," says Jennings. "The world is getting more complicated, SO the more support we have with planning and taking decisions, the better we can function." Although Jennings' 3G intelligent agent shows much promise, it's unlikely that it will be able to fully meet the varied information needs of mobile phone users. "It's very difficult to second guess what people have on their minds," says Alex Linden, a vice president of research at Gartner, a technology research firm based in Stamford, Connecticut. Linden notes that mobile phone users' requirements change quickly, depending on their mood, physical loca- tion, and personal or work situation,