TOWARDS: 3D INTERNET

Abstract

In today’s ever-shifting media landscape, it can be a complex task to find effective ways to reach your desired audience. As traditional media such as television continue to lose audience share, one venue in particular stands out for its ability to attract highly motivated audiences and for its tremendous growth potential the 3D Internet.

The concept of '3D Internet' has recently come into the spotlight in the R&D arena, catching the attention of many people, and leading to a lot of discussions. Basically, one can look into this matter from a few different perspectives: visualization and representation of information, and creation and transportation of information, among others. All of them still constitute research challenges, as no products or services are yet available or foreseen for the near future. Nevertheless, one can try to envisage the directions that can be taken towards achieving this goal. People who take part in virtual worlds stay online longer with a heightened level of interest. To take advantage of that interest, diverse businesses and organizations have claimed an early stake in this fast-growing market. They include technology leaders such as IBM, Microsoft, and Cisco, companies such as BMW, Toyota, Circuit City, Coca Cola, and Calvin Klein, and scores of universities, including Harvard, Stanford and Penn State.