Vienna, Virginia-based America Online Inc announced its Virtual Places World Wide Web-based on-line environment for content providers to create three-dimensional chat and activity centers for consumers. AOL says a beta test version is now available through its GNN subsidiary, which created it. It is seeking to work with content partners to create interactive communities on their Web sites and later on America Online. The company also has a licensing agreement with VDOnet Corp of Palo Alto, California, to license a version of its VDOPhone technology so that users can speak to each other within Virtual Places environments. Worlds Inc of San Francisco was one of the pioneers of the concept with its WorldsChat service, and Microsoft Corp has been testing a similar feature called V-Chat on the Microsoft Network. America Online published its application programming interfaces so other developers can create Web technologies for it.
