Referent identification in human conversation is performed both by describing the objects in question and by pointing at them. Up till now, only the linguistic component could be simulated in dialog systems. But recently, technical innovations have made it possible to 'point' at the objects on a display as well. The paper has two intentions. First, it investigates natural pointing in more detail and offers some possibilities to classify the great variety of pointing actions. Then, it tries to clarify the extent to which pointing by technical means (especially mouse-clicks) can be regarded as a simulation of natural pointing.
