Google Launches 'Lively' 3-D Online Community
Lively, however, isn't a new concept as some Web users have been using Second Life for nearly five years.
Writing on the official Google Blog, Niniane Wang, engineering manager, said the platform will be pushed to users through Google Labs.
"The Lively team wants to help people experience another dimension of the Web," wrote Wang. "We hope you will use the product to express yourself with and without words, and to do this in the places you already visit on the Web."
The inspiration for the project came to Wang when she felt that the Web had become too static.
"Sure, you can leave a comment on a blog or write a text blurb on your social networking profile," Wang wrote. "But what if you want to express yourself in a more fun way, with 3-D graphics and realtime avatar interactions?"
Lively users can choose and design their own avatar that interacts in the environment, which can also be customized to user tastes. Users can pick furniture and other decorations to make their Lively environment closely reflect their own personality, interests and taste.
A Lively room, as created by the user, can be embedded into a blog or Web site. Wang hopes that users on the platform will connect with Lively because it offers interactions that are more than just text.
"Of course, you can chat with each other, and you can also interact through animated actions," wrote Wang. "In our user research, we've been amazed at how much more poignant it is to receive an animated hug than seeing the text 'and#91;and#91;hugand#93;and#93;'."
Google worked with students from Arizona State University to develop the Lively platform. The version rolled out to users was based on feedback from ASU students as well as the Google Desktop team.