ABSTRACT

Would you buy a used PC from this avatar?

Colin Krawchuck

This presentation will look at the issue of user interaction in virtual environments. The standard proposal for how users will interact with virtual environments is predicated on the use of avatars, and intelligent agents to act as surrogates for the user in the virtual environment. This presentation intends to examine the implications of this, particularly the process of identification which individuals are likely to undertake when interacting with avatars in a virtual environment. The presentation hopes to raise questions and address some of the issues surrounding the interaction environments. Specifically, will it be more suited to have a non specific avatar entity which the user uses as a device to navigate through an information environment or to allow for the creation of virtual selves which model and represent the users identity to other users in the virtual environment.