3DXplorer - new Java-based virtual world

3DXplorer - new Java-based virtual world: Serendipitously, just a few days after Avi Bar-Zeev clarifies the difference between two different kind of "browser-based" 3D virtual worlds/globes (one kind requires a plugin be installed, the other relies on the browser's own resources — which is a much harder feat to pull off) an avatar-driven virtual world of the second kind is announced: 3DXplorer. Tantalizingly, it supports COLLADA models of the kind made by SketchUp and found in Google 3D Warehouse. In other words, you can create your own virtual worlds on your own website, populate it with existing 3D content, and let anyone with a free 3DXplorer account visit. That could well be a winning formula, with a free hosting option for low-traffic sites and paid options that are competitive with Second Life, depending on usage patterns. It runs in java 1.6, which alas Apple has been tardy shipping as a default with OS X (it's still at 1.5). The main constraint, I suspect: It doesn't look as slick as Second Life.

New 3DXplorer Enables Interactive Multiuser 3D Web Sites With Avatars

Custom "Universal" Avatars, Multi-User 3D Worlds and COLLADA Import Are Among New Features

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/new-3dxplorer-enables-interactive-multiuser/story.aspx?guid={4AA6BF51-3E44-4A11-B7C8-23A389E51949}&dist=hppr