10/23/95 A 3-D WORLD FOR THE WORLD WIDE WEB

A 3-D WORLD FOR THE WORLD WIDE WEB

SOMETIMES, IT'S HANDY TO view complex information in simulated 3-D--weather data mapped onto the earth's surface, for instance. By rotating that surface, it becomes easy to zero in on data for a specific location and evaluate the information in relation to spots nearby. So Paper Software Inc. in Woodstock, N.Y., has developed a way to create such interactive geographical displays and distribute them as part of documents relayed over the World Wide Web.
The software is based on a previous package the company developed to display and manipulate 3-D objects created in the Internet's Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML). The new software, tentatively named GlobeScope, lets developers of Web pages map multiple layers of data onto a VRML model of the earth. President Michael McCue says GlobeScope could powerfully illuminate breaking stories supplied by a news service such as CNN.
First, the Web page would show the globe with red dots indicating places where news events are taking place. Click on a dot and you'd zoom in on that location to see not only a map of the area but a relevant headline, too. Click again, and the software would summon the full story and accompanying photos. Zoom in some more, and you could see a list of Web hyperlinks leading to related stories and resources, such as historical data. Test copies of GlobeScope are available free on the Web at www.paperinc.com.
EDITED BY JOHN W. VERITY