Dec 18, 2008
Efforts to create online 3D worlds stretch back to 1985 - before the birth of the web itself - when Randy Farmer and Chip Morningstar developed the online roleplaying game Habitat for the Commodore 64, a forerunner of today's online environments such as World of Warcraft and Second Life.
However, these services require users to leave the web and to enter a separate environment. Efforts have been under way for some years to make the web itself 3D, starting with the release in 1994 of VRML (virtual reality modelling language), which reproduces 3D graphics in a browser.
But why bother? The web has already become a destination for information and shopping. What more can 3D bring?
The answer is being worked out by dozens of software developers. These developers include Australian companies Vast Park and Mycosm (www.mycosm.com), which have both released tools to help people create their own virtual worlds, while US company Kinset (kinset.com) can model an online shopping environment in 3D.
Read the full article The Hindu News Update Service
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