Towards communicating 3d embodied agents

Abstract: We discuss a virtual reality theatre environ-ment in which we have embedded agents that can help the user to find information about performers, perform-ances and about the environment. The environment has been built using VRML and is web-accessible. The ideas about the environment changed in time when more fa-cilities were added to it and by paying more attention to users. Rather than being a goal-directed information and transaction system, it is now is evolving into a vir-tual community where differences between visitors and artificial agents become blurred. We discuss what is necessary to let this distinction disappear.