Here you will find what you need and where to get the software required to explore VRML files.

Select your operating system to jump to the section with appropriate instructions:

• Windows 95/NT

• Windows 98

• Mac PowerPC

• Other operating systems

Windows 95/NT users:

Netscape
Communicator 4.5 requires a VRML plug-in to be installed. The button above will take you to the Netscape download page. When you get there, select the latest version of Communicator and follow their downloading and installation instructions.

Microsoft
Internet Explorer 4.0
or later versions require a VRML plug-in to be installed. The button above will take you to the Microsoft Internet Explorer download page. If you already have Netscape or Microsoft IE all you need is the VRML plug-in:

Cosmo Player 2.1

You have everything built-in. The Cosmo Player 2.1 plug-in might not be installed, but you have it on the disk. Go to the Control Pannel and use Add/Remove Programs and follow installation instructions.

System Requirements:
Mac OS 7.6.1 or higher.

Netscape
Communicator 4.5 requires a VRML player Plug-in to be installed. The button above will take you to the Netscape download page. When you get there, select the latest version of Communicator and follow the downloading and installation instructions. If you already have Netscape or Microsoft IE all you need is the VRML plug-in:

Cosmo Player 2.1

If you are using other operating systems, please select a VRML enabled browser and an appropriate Plug-In from the list available at The VRML Repository.

Great! Another four-letter word to throw around at power lunches. This will really impress your friends. Pronouced [ 'vermel ], sounds a little close to "vermin" for my taste. Certainly has a ring of a Klingon insult.

VRML stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language.
This is not a computer language. In layman's terms it's
a standard of making text notations that describe 3D objects and scenes. It also describes properties and behaviors of those objects. VRML notations are read, interpreted and displayed by a browser application as 3-dimensional spaces on your screen and sounds in your speakers.

The final specifications for VRML 2.0 were introduced in August 1996. VRML 2.0 is an extension to the VRML 1.0 In VRML 2.0 is is possible to assign a much wider range of properties and behaviors to the virtual objects. It gives designers better control of scene's appearance and its functions. It greatly expands visitors' perception of reality of objects, characters and events in the scene.

You can move through those spaces by clicking and draging the mouse in the general direction of where you wish to go. Various browsers have different navigation controls. Some are OK for humans, others are better suited for Klingons.

Objects that are hyperlinked change the appearance of the cursor and display destination's description or a URL. When you click on the object, it can lead to somewhere else in the scene or to another space or another page. VRML 1.0 supports some 3D animation (geometry), 2D animation (digitized video), color pictures (texture mapping), sounds and text for a rich experience.

When more than one visitor can occupy the same cyberspace, that's when the magic begins. The paradigm shifts when cybrespace changes from being a place of loneliness and isolation to an exsiting world, filled with unexpected encounters with avatars, a world where people can interact in meaningful ways. This opens many opportunities for business communications, on-line trade, education, entertainment, art and practically every sphere which needs social interactions. You are at the starting line of the race for imagination.

An avatar is a representation and embodiment of a person in virtual reality. It can look like whatever you want: a mannequin, a chess-like figurine, a face with an alias or an animal. It is not necessary for an avatar to have any anthropomorphic qualities. However, they help, especially when its purpose is to convey human expressions and emotions. Choosing an appearance for your avatars is not an easy task.

As you move through space, you can see or hear others' avatars who happen to be there, and they can perceive you. Visitors can communicate among themselves through their avatars, with text, voice, video and animation (lip-synching and gestures).

The word avatar is from ancient sanscrit, and is a Hindu religious concept. The soul exists in another dimension from the body. In different realities the soul or the consiousness is reincarnated in a different body or avatar. One consiousness can also be transmited simultaneously into a number of realities. Hindu gods appear in, the form of humans or objects in this physical world. For example: Vishnu of whom the Buddha can be cosidered an avatar, is often represented as the cosmic column or the sacred wheele of life. The relationships get rather complicated.

Avatars' existance in the realm of cyberspace today is no less compex. There are basically three ways for avatars to exist. First is the kind that is active only when a real person is behind it, controling all of its behaviors in real time. This is a totally dependent avatar. Next is the kind that serves as a host for a human and is under his/her control part of the time. At other times it may act independently in a prescribed manner. This is a semi-independent avatar. The third type can be described as being a robot, performing its functions (doing its job) only as it was programmed. This is a completely independent avatar. Complex social issues will be contested regarding the use of avatars. Intellectual property lawyers will have a field day with this subject, and even governments may get involved.