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Google forays into 'virtual socializing'
By siliconindia
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Saturday, 12 July 2008, 02:05 IST
Bangalore: With a plan to enter new areas beyond its common function of organizing information, the search engine Google has started efforts to create a browser based virtual world. Through this the company is hoping to orchestrate more virtual socializing on the web. As a beginning Google has launched a free service with three-dimensional software that enables people to congregate in fantasy rooms and other computer manufactured versions of real life.
The service, called 'Lively,' is Google's answer to an already well-established site, 'Second Life,' where people deploy animated alter egos known as avatars to navigate virtual reality. Google already has created a lively application that works on Facebook.com, one of the Web's hottest hangouts, and is working on a version suitable for an even larger online social network, News Corp's MySpace.com.
Niniane Wang, a Google engineering manager said, "We know people already spend a lot of time online socializing, so we just want to try to make it more enjoyable." Lively's users will be able to sculpt an avatar that can be male, female or even a different species. An avatar can assume a new identity, change clothes or convey emotions with a few clicks of the mouse. The service also enables users to create different digital environments to roam, from a child's room to an exotic island.
