Method and system for providing order status information using a network address

1. A computerized method to provide update information, the method including:

at a merchant computer, receiving a network address from a customer associated with an order placed by the customer with the merchant, wherein the merchant ships the order via a common carner;

automatically interrogating a remote information system of the common carrier via a network to determine a delivery status of the order; and

automatically composing and transmitting a message to the network address for the customer, wherein the message indicates the delivery status of the order.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatically composing and transmitting of the message is performed upon determining that the delivery status of the order has changed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interrogating of the remote information system further includes:

receiving status information to determine the delivery status of the order and indicating the status information in the message to the customer.

4. The method of claim 3 , further including updating a status record to include the received status information, the updating the status record including setting a flag associated with the status record.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the automatically composing and transmitting of the message includes performing a check to see if the flag associated with the status record is set and sending the message if the flag is set.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network address is an electronic mail address of the customer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network is the Internet.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is an electronic mail message.

9. An electronic commerce system, comprising:

a status requester to automatically interrogate an information system of a common carrier via a network to determine a status of an order; and

an electronic mail messenger, coupled to the status requester, to automatically compose and transmit an electronic mail message to a network address for a customer, wherein the message indicates the status of the order.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the electronic mail messenger automatically composes and transmits the message upon determining that the status of the order has changed.

11. The system of claim 9 , further including:

a status receiver, coupled to the electronic mail messenger, to receive the status information; and

a status database, coupled to the status receiver, wherein the status receiver stores the status information in a status record in the status database, wherein updating the status record with the status information includes setting a flag associated with the status record.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the electronic mail messenger automatically composes and transmits the message upon performing a check to see if the flag associated with the status record is set.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the network address is an electronic mail address of the customer.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the message is an electronic mail message.

15. A machine-readable medium having executable instructions to cause a machine to perform a method to provide update information, the method including:

at a merchant computer, receiving a network address from a customer associated with an order placed by the customer with the merchant, wherein the merchant coordinates with a common carrier to facilitate a delivery related to the order;

automatically interrogating a remote information system of the common carrier via a network to determine a delivery status of the order; and

automatically composing and transmitting a message to the network address for the customer, wherein the message indicates the delivery status of the order.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the automatically composing and transmitting the message is performed upon determining that the delivery status of the order has changed.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the interrogating the remote information system further includes:

receiving status information to determine the delivery status of the order and indicating the status information in the message to the customer.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 17 , further including updating a status record to include the received status information, the updating the status record including setting a flag associated with the status record.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the automatically composing and transmitting of the message includes performing a check to see if the flag associated with the status record is set and sending the message if the flag is set.

20. An electronic commerce system, comprising:

a requesting means for automatically requesting a delivery status of an order for a customer from a remote information system of a common carrier via a network; and

a messaging means, coupled to the requester means, for automatically composing and transmitting an electronic mail message to a network address for the customer, wherein the message indicates the status of the order.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the electronic mail messenger is for automatically composing and transmitting the message upon determining that the delivery status of the order has changed.

22. The system of claim 20 , further including:

a requesting means for interrogating an information system via a network to determine the delivery status of the order.

23. The system of claim 20 , further including:

a storage means for storing the delivery status in a status record in the storage means, wherein the receiving means updates the status record with the status information and sets a flag associated with the status record.