Avatars: The vehicle to virtual reality on the Web

Weekly Corporate Growth Report, Feb 19, 2001 by Rock, Justin

The next step in Internet interaction is 3-D. The idea of walking through a virtual world on the Web is increasingly becoming a reality.

Avatars are the most recent venture into making this fantasy come true. An avatar is a 3 dimensional representation of a person on the Web. The user controls its appearance, movement and speech.

The most advanced use of this technology is currently being used mainly by musicians offering the experience on their Web sites. The group Aerosmith is launching a new site to correspond with the release of its next album in March of 2001. Fans will be able to view online concerts (recorded exclusively for Web site viewers) and even chat with band members.

Avatars are becoming more realistic and easier to control due to improved technology. This has sparked the recent popularity boost in 3-D Web sites. They are being used by rock bands, soft-drink makers and even communication companies. Coca-Cola Co. recently launched a site aimed at the Hong Kong market, that allowed avatars to mingle and chat in a Coke-sponsored world. And British Telecommunications PLC is testing products using photo-quality avatars to visitors of London's Millennium Dome. People have their pictures taken at the Dome and can download their own avatar at the British Telecom Web site and use them in interactive online first-person games.

"It could be that in 12 months we turn around and say avatars were just a fad," says Matthew Lawson, head of a British Telecom research lab. "But my gut feeling is that we can make a lot of money."

The companies working on avatars still have quite a way to go before the technology allows for a product that makes realistic quality 3D images and interaction. Current avatars can move their arms and legs, but conversation between them is usually typed out in a text box at the bottom center of the screen and maneuvering an avatar in cyberspace on a slow Internet connection can prove to be extremely frustrating.

The potential for chaos is very real. Michael Sivak, director of production at Worlds.com Inc., a developer of avatars, cites a case in which a user hacked into software designed to create avatars and made one that looked like snow. The avatar proceeded to blanket the Web site in white. New programs have been created to remove such avatars from the site that exceed or move out of the "fenced-in spaces" on the site.

The cost of creating avatars varies depending on the realism sought. The avatars made by British Telecom replicate a person's face, clothes and general body shape and cost the company a few dollars each to produce. Worlds.com paid between $30,000 and $50,000 to Giant Studios Inc. to help create Aerosmith's avatars.

The cost of producing such extravagant sites like Aerosmith's are just a part of the financial picture. The CEO of Worlds.com budgeted $250,000 to create the Aerosmith virtual world, one of the nine that the company now operates. The annual cost of maintaining a single site is between $100,000 and $200,000. All depending on the number of users and special features such as online video broadcasts. Aerosmith paid Worlds.com an undisclosed amount to produce their site.

The revenue generated from these sites come from advertising and sales of music and other merchandise. These sales are shared between the site producers and headliners.

By Justin Rock

Editor-in-Chief