The Virtual Presence Protocol (VPP) is used to enable the exchange of document based virtual presence information. Virtual presence information is the foundation for virtual neighborhood services which provide users with information about virtual neighbors, i.e. other users who are close within the virtual document space. VPP enables the creation of dynamic vicinities based on hypertext references. It is not meant to replace or supersede presence notification protocols, but it augments online presence with location information. The purpose of presence notification protocols is to tell whether another individual is online or arrives online, etc.