There's this really interesting project in progress going on at Northwestern University's InfoLab called NewsAtSeven. As I understand it, it's an app that aggregates news stories from selected sources on the 'Net, edits them, then presents them in a video format, with the news anchors being virtual models. The referenced site features a few links to videos demonstrating a typical newscast, and it's compelling, if the way it works is as advertised.The potential here is for an in-world news service, featuring avatars as anchors, with the feed being broadcast to people's sims on screens for all to view. There is a lot of potential here, but obviously, there are also many questions to be answered. How does this system work? Is it platform-agnostic? Can any feed be used? Can any avatar be used? How automated is it? I'll be keeping an eye on this project.
