To provide a method for automatically classifying objective data to categories with accuracy close to that in manual operation, and continuously acquiring such a reliable category sample (learning case) to be usable for subsequent classification of new objective data.

In a terminal device 20, a user follows, when searching objective data such as a commodity stored in a server 10, a link categorized in a tree structure and browses an objective data group of a desired kind. The server 10 stores the association of the objective data with the category. The server 10 assigns categories as candidates of classification when data for learning a category for classification is received. The user of the terminal device 20 selects any one of the assigned categories and reaches the objective data. The server 10 stores this selected category. The server 10 classifies, upon receipt of new objective data, the data to the learnt category.

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