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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
London, United Kingdom, 11/09/2009 - This month’s launch of NearLondon – the virtual facsimile of the city’s West End – could mark the beginning of the web’s shift from 2D to 3D according to the UK’s leading virtual-worlds experts, Rivers Run Red.
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Justin Bovington, CEO, believes Near™ represents “an evolutionary step” towards the mainstream adoption of immersive 3D online environments. Rivers Run Red have come onboard as the lead creative development partners for Near™, helping brands and content owners enter NearLondon.
“To date the 3D net has been a niche,” says Bovington. “Historically virtual worlds have either been about fantasy gaming, or, like Second Life, a place of personal world building, all of which takes time and commitment.”
“NearLondon is different. It's quick to get into and easy to use. It’s not hermetically sealed like most virtual worlds, it’s connected. This is the start of the 3D web; a place you can literally step into and experience the best of the net in immersive 3D and, using your Facebook account, explore it with your friends too.”
Dozens of the West End’s leading retailers have signed up ahead of NearLondon’s launch. Visitors will be able to hop from virtual window shopping to online purchasing in one click.
"We want to radically broaden the appeal of virtual worlds," says NearGlobal founder Alex Wrottesley, “so that pretty much any web user would feel comfortable and confident paying a visit.”
"That means providing a context that people understand. So our starting point is understanding how people socialise, shop and explore in real places - and looking at how we can apply that to virtual spaces to make them more intuitive, compelling and ultimately, more magical experiences."
Julie Meyer, star of the BBC’s online version of Dragon’s Den and founder of the First Tuesday club for tech entrepreneurs was an early backer of Near™. She too believes that NearLondon signals a change in the way people will use the web.
“What appealed to me about NearLondon was that it’s not technology for its own sake; it puts the web together the way that real life is put together. As a busy person I don’t need distractions, I’m looking for things that make life easier and, at the same time, are fun to use.
NearLondon is exactly that.”
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