There…where ?

Running at remarkably steep angles up a grassy hill, Melinda Gann glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the beach falling far away from her as she recently made her way to the summit.
She was alone and exhilarated. The view, she recalled, was almost as stunning as her achievement: leaving behind her body, disabled with lupus and arthritis that has confined her to a wheelchair, to enter a newly created, computer-generated world called There.
It is a meticulously designed, three-dimensional virtual reality, or metaverse. In it, people are represented by avatars, cartoonlike figures that move about like marionettes speaking through great bubbles of text appearing over their heads. Consumers using high-speed broadband connections can chat, not just in text, but by voice as well, and even share music with one another as they talk and play.
The creator of this virtual world, There Inc, is calling it “the first online getaway,” a sort of digital Club Med where the guests will be able to connect with other people, shop, or simply explore the exotic surroundings.
And while chat is a major feature of There, the company’s chief executive, Tom Melcher, said it offers much more, including avatars enlivened with artificial intelligence that look and act more realistically than typical game characters. They appear to breathe. Their eyes blink, and their body language —controlled by the user or left to software to animate —is meant to make conversations feel more natural.
There is not just a new way to communicate,” he said. “It’s an online place with real-world physics, natural scenery and sounds, and the ability to interact freely with people and objects.”
Of course, computer-generated environments in which users can interact through digital alter egos have been around for years. Almost any computer game that lets a player wield a weapon or throw a punch is, by definition, a virtual world.
A virtual destination like There is more akin to going to a cooking class or an art museum to meet people. Members can guide their avatars by basically using the directional keys on a standard computer keyboard not only to meet friends and make new ones but also to explore There’s worlds.

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