Abstract: A user of a system comprising a large set of information items, for example a multimedia database, is assisted by an agent in searching the set. The agent has a given affinity for the information items and selects a specific information item from the set in conformity with said affinity. On the basis of the interactions between the user and the system an image is formed of the affinity of the user for the information items. The agent utilizes this image, in addition to its own affinity, for the selection of a specific information item. A major application of the invention concerns a system in which the information items are presented as objects in a space and in which the agent guides the user through the space and proposes a specific object to the user.