Facebook modders to bring touch of realism

Whether or not you’re into websites like Facebook and games like Second Life is very much a matter of taste, but have you ever wondered how the pair would taste when mashed together into a rich Web 2.0 fricassee?

That odd recipe is exactly the formula chosen by US software firm Vivaty in taking the flat world of Facebook’s walls and favourites lists and placing them in a more game-like three-dimensional environment.

Emotional Engagement

The Vivaty software, which will appear as an add-on to Facebook this summer, gives users their own 3D rooms, within which they can display content as they please and can add furniture or have face-to-face virtual chats with online friends.

Vivaty CEO, Keith McCurdy, explains: “We’ve been… building a platform that we think will change the way we all experience the web. We call it the Immersive Web, which is a new level of visual richness and emotional engagement that makes the things we do today on the web more exciting.”

He continues: “We believe personal expression can go beyond listing some interests in a profile. Media sharing can be more than tagging and commenting. And communication can get more real-time, expressive and emotive. That is our goal.”

There’s nothing particularly new about such virtual arenas, but Vivaty’s approach of creating them entirely through a web browser sets it apart from power-hungry applications like Second Life.

Update: Vivaty's PR asked us to make a few adjustments. Apparently, we can't call the firm's work 'software' - instead, we're supposed to refer to Vivaty as 'an Immersive Web company or a company specializing in personal virtual experiences on the Web.'

So, they're talking about a Facebook application -- now, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that involve writing code? In other words, creating software? Come on Vivaty - we were starting to like you before your PR goons got in touch.