It would seem like virtual worlds are indeed taking over the world. That’s a bit of a melodramatic statement but Google have now launched their own virtual world known as Lively, where this creative new social network involves each Google user creating an avatar profile and their very own virtual room to accompany their profile. Anywhere a Lively virtual room is available, whether it be a blog, web page or social network, then if you have a Google account (and avatar) you can join in on the fun. This news will come as a blow for the competition Vivaty, as Allen Stern from Centre Networks comments, who only very recently announced the arrival of their own innovation before Google cropped up with their very own virtual world.
It’s a simple procedure to start up your Lively world too; all you need to begin with is a Google account, where you can then download a plug-in for your browser that allows each user to customise their avatar. With the customisation option, each user can alter the appearance of their avatar from hair colour, skin colour and eye colour’s, and should you feel more adventurous then start dressing your character by adding bling to them as much as you possibly desire.
Then there is the fun of designing your own virtual room for your avatar with the many templates available to choose from. With further customisation selections, the theme of a room can range from indoor rooms to outdoor rooms such as a desert island to a 5 room apartment, where you can even include furniture, background music, and YouTube videos on your virtual plasma screen. These Lively rooms provide a point of interaction for Internet users, being able to chat, show emotions and if your avatar is blessed with guns, move furniture around, should you feel compelled to perform some Grand Design action in a virtual world.
Google are hoping that their Lively virtual room will take social networking to a new level of interaction with people on the Internet; the potential is huge with being able to place your avatar in any Lively room available online. At the moment Google are providing it for free but rumours circulating expect once Lively has become, well lively, then a small fee may be expected for premium versions of room templates.
Comparisons are already being made to Second Life, but Google’s Lively aim to create small virtual environments amongst users rather than one large virtual world. As AdLab run down their first impressions of Lively, this new concept may take time for new users to comprehend but sooner or later you could be watching clips of the new football season on the big screen in your living room (in a virtual world of course…)
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