It may be taboo to mention closed-source software here, but I can give you a resounding endorsement of some software that will allow you to create and process menus for telephone callers that is very compatible with Perl. Specifically, check out Copia International which makes a system called FaxFacts. Although it runs on NT (yech) and is closed source (yech), it is entirely configured with text files, including the config files that control the menu tree of options. That makes it an ideal task for Perl. I have used this software for over 7 years to run a Fax Service Bureau at the Los Angeles Times, and am currently writing a number of Perl scripts to manage a system at another company. The stuff works, is easy to use, and allows you to send email, fax on demand, fax broadcasting, phone transfers, and a variety of other things. Handling a phone tree is a relatively trivial task for this system. The type of hardware this runs on is not your typical modem card. They are specialized boards for handling voice and fax, usually manufactured by Dialogic and Brooktrout. Now, if someone could learn to control Dialogic and Brooktrout hardware with Perl directly, that'd be a cool thing, too, and I'd love to see it. (I think these companies sell their APIs.) If you can't do it directly, take a look at Copia's stuff. --Mark www.widawer.com