The Application of VoiceXML to E-commerce

VoiceXML (voice extensible markup language) is a language of the W3C to create voice-user interfaces, particularly for the telephone. It uses speech recognition and touchtone (DTMF keypad) for input, and pre-recorded audio and text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) for output. The text-to-speech synthesis feature opens new perspectives for e-commerce. We are no longer restricted to prerecorded audio but can bring any text to the ear of the user - a user that could be visually impaired and needs a voice channel to communicate-or a user who can read but who prefers to listen. This paper first shows the importance of voice interface to e-commerce, and then presents the VoiceXML techniques and a certain business application. At last, we draw some conclusions.