edited by Timothy K Shih (Tamkang University, Taiwan) & Paul P Wang (Duke University, USA)

In recent years, we have witnessed an explosive growth in multimedia computing, communication and applications. This revolution is transforming the way people live, work and interact with each other, and is impacting the way business, government services, education, entertainment and health care operate.

This important book summarizes recent research topics, focusing on four major areas: (1) intelligent content-based information retrieval and virtual world, (2) quality-of-services of multimedia data, (3) intelligent techniques for distance education, and (4) intelligent agents for e-commerce.

This book has been selected for coverage in:

• CC / Engineering, Computing & Technology

• Index to Scientific Book Contents® (ISBC)

• Metadata-Mediated Browsing and Retrieval in a Cultural Heritage Image Collection (D V Sreenath et al.)
• Shape Analysis and Retrieval of Multimedia Objects (M H Safar)
• Perceptual Consistency for Image Retrieval (W K Leow)
• Multimedia Broadcasting Techniques: Present Approaches and New Trends (B Furht et al.)
• On IP Traffic Monitoring (D Wei & N Ansari)
• Networked Multimedia Information Management for QoS-Sensitive Info-sphere (W Lee et al.)
• Scenario Analysis Using Petri Nets (F O Lin)
• Synchronized Hypermedia Lecture Framework for Web-based Distance Education (H-Y Chen)
• Distance Education Over the Japan Gigabit Network (A He et al.)
• Intelligent Web-based E-Commerce System (B Limthanmaphon et al.)
• Technologies for the Enhancement of Personalization in E-Commerce Applications (K P Hewagamage et al.)
• Contract Negotiation in E-marketplaces (L Esmahi & J Ngwenya)
• and other articles