Incorporating filtering techniques in a fuzzy linguistic multi-agent model for information gathering on the web

In (Computing with Words, Wiley, New York, 2001, p. 251; Soft Comput. 6 (2002) 320; Fuzzy Logic and The Internet, Physica-Verlag, Springer, Wurzburg, Berlin, 2003) we presented different fuzzy linguistic multi-agent models for helping users in their information gathering processes on the Web. In this paper we describe a new fuzzy linguistic multi-agent model that incorporates two information filtering techniques in its structure: a content-based filtering agent and a collaborative filtering agent. Both elements are introduced to increase the information filtering possibilities of multi-agent system on the Web and, in such a way, to improve its retrieval issues. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.