1. A computer implemented method of information retrieval from a federated repository, comprising the steps of: for each data source in said federated repository generating an inverted repository index in a common format to define a plurality of repository indices; merging said repository indices into a master index wherein semantically common elements of said repository indices are fused into a single element; accepting a query for information contained in said federated repository; responsive to said query, consulting said master index to identify documents of said federated repository having characteristics semantically consistent with said query; and displaying virtual directory paths of said documents that are organized according to semantics of said documents.