The consumer-unfriendly Universal Resource Locator (URL)- the standard method of entering Internet addresses into a Web browser-could soon morph into a simpler scheme that will make it easy for those using TV- based Net applications and PC/TV combos to tune in their favorite television programs, place a phone call or send a fax.

Three new URL formats appear in a proposed standard that's been presented to the Internet Engineering Task Force. It will be discussed at next week's meeting of the IETF here, said the author of the proposal, Dan Zigmond, director of engineering at interactive-TV software vendor Wink Communications Inc. (Alameda, Calif.)

The new URLs are intended for use with the browser-like software interfaces that are beginning to appear on consumer-electronics systems such as set-top boxes and may soon see service in smart cellular telephones.

"We're starting to see a lot of browsers popping up on consumer-electronics devices," said Zigmond. "We want to bring to these browsers a standardized way of doing channel tuning or placing calls."

For example, tuning in a television station would be accomplished by entering a TV-network name, station call sign or channel number-for example, tv://nbc, tv:// kqed or tv://13.

A second URL scheme, for telephone dialing, follows the phone:// identifier with an area code and number, as in: phone://+1-516-555-1212. The final URL, for fax transmissions, is similar to the phone scheme: fax://+1-212-555-1212.

Zigmond believes his proposal is on its way to acceptance. "There seems to be consensus in the telephony world," he said. "The TV URLs may be a little more controversial, because they involve standardization of broadcast identifiers [like call signs]."

Matt Trifiro, vice president of marketing at Wink Communications, said the company has floated Zigmond's proposal to set-top-box makers General Instrument, Scientific-Atlanta and Pioneer. "We have heard back very positively," Zigmond said.

Indeed, field trials are under way and widespread deployment is expected next year, according to John Burke, director of new-business development at set-top- box maker General Instrument (Hatboro, Pa.)

Support for the new URL scheme is coming in Wink's own software, the Wink Engine, and its companion ICAP protocol. The Wink Engine was recently embraced by a group of Japanese consumer-electronics companies. On the hardware side, General Instrument provides support in its CFT-2200 first- generation interactive set-top box.

For cable operators looking to deploy interactive and Web-based applications, General Instrument offers a package of hardware and software that includes the set-top box and Wink/ICAP, which functions as middleware. "That enables the third parties to develop the set-top applications," said Burke of GI. "Wink is resident on our boxes and also on the head end. The ICAP protocol rides across the cable system's broadband network."

Interactive ads

TV-based Internet access is but one of many apps that can use the platform. "For example, there's interactive advertising and information retrieval," said Burke. "The ICAP protocol can be used for embedding URL information in program material. You could have a Ford commercial and embed URLs within the ad so that when it's aired, devices will be able to recognize the embedded URL."

At Wink, Trifiro said the company is also working on telephony products incorporating the new URL scheme, but he wouldn't provide specifics.

The URL standard proposal is available over the Internet at ftp://ftp.ietf.cnri.reston.va.us/ietf/. The document name is draft-zigmond-media-url-00.txt.