Autonomous Communicative Behaviors in Avatars

Most networked virtual communities, such as MUDs (Multi-User Domains), where people meet in a fictitious place to socialize and build worlds, have until recently been text-based. However, fueled partly by the VRML standardization of 3D graphics interchange on the internet, such environments are going graphical, displaying models of colorful locales and the people that inhabit them. When users connect to such a system, they choose a character that will become their graphical representation, termed an avatar, in the world. Once inside, the users can explore the environment, often from a 1st person perspective, by moving their avatar around. The avatars of all other users, currently logged onto the system, can be seen and approached to initiate a conversation.