There
are various types of 3D environment on the internet
which include vrml communities games sites and others,
in this text i will concentrate on so 3D chat programs.
As
computers and internet connections get faster so the
possabilities to interact in a 3D environment online
become greater. People are very aware of how computer
games have been exploiting this for some time but
the area of 3D chat is less well known.
The
idea started with people being frustrated with normal
chat programs using just text as a medium for communication.
Various ideas have been tried an are in use and web
cams and voice are now popular items. Alongside these
concepts another idea was explored, creating a character
(avatar) to represent yourself which you can manipulate
in a simulated 3D environment.
Whilst
these are called "chat" programs they are
often very different from the concept of an ordinary
chat program. In many of them an array of tools are
available to allow you to modify your avatar (the
representative in the 3D world of you) and in some
cases tools to change the environement around you
as well.
