VOICE-CONTROLLED VOICE MAIL HAVING RANDOM-ORDER MESSAGE RETRIEVAL BASED ON PLAYED SPOKEN IDENTIFIER LIST

A system and method for voice controlled message retrieval. Each message stored in a voice mail system has an associated header and return address. The system generates and stores a speech recognition template from each unique header. When a subscriber wishes to retrieve a message, the subscriber speaks the header. The subscriber's speech is then compared with the speech recognition templates stored in the system. If a matching template is found, the system plays the message associated with the header from which the template was generated. Additionally, the subscriber can tag certain callers and cause the system to apply special treatment to messages from tagged callers. Moreover, the subscriber can reply to a caller calling from outside the system.