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The battle to define the next-generation standard for virtual-reality worlds on the Internet moved into overdrive last week, when Netscape Communications, Silicon Graphics Inc. and more than 50 other companies backed an SGI proposal called Moving Worlds.
The momentum behind the specification seems strong, but Moving Worlds is only one of six proposals up for debate by the Virtual Reality Modeling Language Architecture Group, an ad-hoc organization formed to create VRML standards for the Internet.
The most notable opponent is Microsoft Corp., which is pushing its ActiveVRML proposal, based on extensive 3-D work it has done internally. Microsoft has said it will come out with its own list of supporters soon. Apple Computer Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. also have made VRML 2.0 proposals.
"In December and January, our clientele was confused. They felt the market was getting fractured and they weren't willing to put money into anything," said David Colleen, one of the principals of Planet 9 Studios, a leading VRML design house that has created a series of sites for Intel Corp. and is working on VRML representations of major U.S. cities, starting with San Francisco.
"Moving Worlds now...