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Weblin Receives Innovation in Virtual Worlds for Consumers Award and Launches Sitekit for Web Developers at 2008 Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo

Posted on: Thursday, 4 September 2008, 09:00 CDT

Weblin, an avatar-based social browsing application, announced today that it received the Innovation in Virtual Worlds for Consumers award at the 2008 Virtual Worlds Conference.

Weblin (www.weblin.com) is a tool that allows Web surfers to make themselves visible to other users by assigning an avatar, or "weblin" to depict a user at the bottom of every Web site. Weblins who are on the same site at the same time can see each other, and are able to communicate in real-time. Weblin has become a leader in the rapidly growing "Layered Virtual Worlds" space with co-founder and chief technology officer, Dr. Heiner Wolf, first pioneering this technology six years ago through a virtual classroom application, a preliminary version developed before weblin was launched in 2006. Layered virtual worlds use the regular Web as a backdrop for their own virtual community. Weblins are able to chat, move and display a range of actions and emotions in 3D independent of the Web site they are on.

Weblin's New Sitekit

At the Virtual Worlds Conference, Weblin also released Sitekit, an application programming interface (API), which opens up its software to third party developers and allows Web sites to engage with weblins. With Sitekit, software developers can create dynamic environments for weblins to explore and interact with the site. Sitekit also provides Web developers with endless possibilities such as the ability to direct visitors to specific content on their site.

Weblin.com has created three examples of how Sitekit can be used: complete adventures or action games; automated moderation; and animation between the site and weblins. Demos illustrating Sitekit examples and instructions for the Sitekit API can be found at http://www.weblin.com/sitekit.

 --  Adventure: The adventure example can be used to create games or     scavenger hunts on a Web site. In the adventure demo, a weblin starts out     at a beach in the South Pacific and is transported from one adventure     playground to the next through virtual doors or signposts -- the     environment reacts to the behavior of the digital visitor. --  Moderation: With the moderation example, undesirable words can be     banned from communication on the Web site with the aid of a filter     function. This is a configuration tailored especially for children's Web     sites. --  Animation: The animation example demonstrates how Web developers can     animate their site. In the animation demo, a dance floor has been     integrated into the homepage, so that as a weblin enters the virtual dance     floor, he/she begins to dance.      

"Weblin is committed to making the Web a fun and interactive platform for users and Web site owners. Weblin Sitekit empowers Web site owners by giving them another tool to communicate with users in a creative manner," said Marc Theermann, GM North America of weblin. "Weblin Sitekit is designed to create site stickiness, attract and entertain users through a dynamic, community experience."

About weblin

Weblin was founded in 2006, and is funded by T-Venture Holding, one of Germany's leading venture capital firms. The company has received multiple Web 2.0 innovation prizes including Red Herring Europe 100. In addition, Business 2.0 included weblin in its list of the "Most promising non-U.S. Web 2.0 companies" and Always On incorporated the company in its Global 250 list of hottest companies. Companies such as Microsoft and IBM are already using weblin to expand the reach of their community, create stickiness, and provide a revolutionary immersive Web experiences. For further information, please visit: http://www.weblin.com.

 Contact Information: Amy Drapeau SHIFT Communications (617) 779-1808 Email Contact

SOURCE: Weblin

Source: MARKET WIRE

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