1. A method of exchanging signaling messages in an Internet Protocol (IP) communications network, the IP communications network comprising a chain of at least two entities configured to process object oriented signaling messages, the method comprising: at a first network entity in the chain: receiving a signaling message, wherein the signaling message comprises one of a text-based signaling message and an object-oriented based signaling message comprising serialized object classes of an object oriented programming language; responsive to the signaling message being a text-based signaling message, converting the signaling message to the object-oriented based signaling message; responsive to the signaling message being an object-oriented based signaling message, processing the signaling message without parsing the signaling message; and transmitting the object-oriented based signaling message from the first network entity in the chain to a second network entity in the chain causing the second network entity to process the object-oriented based signaling message without parsing the object-oriented based signaling message.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second network entities of the chain operate in an IP communications network supporting Voice over IP (VoIP) communications.