Tags results for contacts

CNET UK > Features > Columns > Michael Parsons

Chatting in the third dimension

I still associate instant messaging with flirting, and idle chat, but it's now a business tool I use everyday. Yet it's social enough to include avatars, cute little pictures of your virtual self that display during your IM session. My Yahoo Messenger avatar wears a suit and a tie, as befits my sombre work persona, but you can choose any body, hair, eyes, or clothes you desire. These avatars wink a bit, or frown, but don't do much else. They're not exactly alive. Elsewhere on the Web, like at IMVU.com, that's changing. Read more

8 August 2006, 16:33  |  Tags: Bebo, Google, MySpace, Yahoo, Second Life