JP2002324019A - Virtual world presentment method, virtual world presentment system, user terminal that can be used for these, server and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such a problem that the setting and operation for the Internet are still hard to understand for ordinary people, and are obstruction for the use. SOLUTION: In a Web page that a Web server 18 holds, a program has been embedded previously, and a person browsing the Web page operates to display the program with a browser on a user terminal 12. By the operation of the program, a virtual window is displayed on the Web page. By displaying, in the window, such a space that reminds the browsing person of the existence of a virtual world, the impression that the virtual world exists behind the Internet 16 is given. The program transmits/receives necessary data to/from a virtual world generating server 14, which makes a character displayed in the window and leads the browsing person to various pages via the character's navigation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a virtual world effect method and a virtual world effect system. The present invention particularly relates to a technique for visually expressing a virtual world by electronic processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as personal computers).
Simply called "PC". The Internet population is exploding with the rapid spread of). This is not necessarily a spontaneous phenomenon but a result of improvement in operability and convenience of PC software. Recently, the number of users using the Internet by making full use of mobile phones has increased, and it has been seen that e-mails and various information are accessed anywhere, both indoors and outdoors. As the number of information recipients increases, the amount of information transmitted naturally increases. Nowadays, the necessary information is almost always available via the Internet, and the Internet has deeply penetrated everyday life.

[0003]

[0005] However, the Internet is difficult for ordinary people to set up, operate, technical terms, structure and basic technologies, and becomes an infrastructure that can be widely used by the general public. Not. Many people have given up before using it, and for these people, the means of communication and information acquisition are almost the same as before, and the feeling of alienation is increasing. In recent years, the spread of the information gap has become a social problem, as symbolized by the term “Digital Divide,” which not only hinders the progress of economic activities in the network age, but also reduces IT on a national scale. It is beginning to become an obstacle when promoting.

The present inventor has made the present invention based on the above recognition, and an object of the present invention is to provide an expression technique for making the Internet more familiar to ordinary people.

[0005]

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a virtual world rendering method. In this method, a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world is displayed in a window displayed by a function on a web page in which the function of displaying a virtual window is embedded in advance, based on this display. Then, electronic processing is performed so as to impress that the virtual world exists integrally behind the plurality of web pages.

Here, the “virtual window” is, for example, a rectangular area displayed in a web page displayed in a window such as a web browser (hereinafter simply referred to as a “browser”). Alternatively, the browser may open a new window and set this as a “window”.
“Electronic processing” broadly includes, for example, processing such as operating a display object in a window or cooperating with another web page.

[0007] According to this virtual world production method, it is possible to give the user the feeling that there is a hidden world behind the Internet, as seen through the window, and thereby the user can realize that the Internet is integrated. You can feel it visually.

[0008] A character is displayed in a virtual window, and the character is controlled to interact with a viewer of the web page. Based on the interaction, the viewer interacts with the virtual world through the window. The scene to interact with may be created electronically.

[0009] The “character” here is a person like a resident in a virtual world, and this resident may be expressed as a person or an animal. This character may be represented as a moving entity by a moving image or animation, or may be simply represented by a still image. This character may be represented as an intelligent agent capable of learning the content of dialogue with the user and making autonomous judgment.

[0010] By setting a resident in a virtual world and displaying the resident on a plurality of web pages, the existence of a world existing integrally behind the Internet is impressed. The interaction with the virtual world may be realized through the dialogue with the inhabitants.

Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a virtual world effect system. This system is for displaying a page that displays a web page, a window providing unit that displays a virtual window on the web page, and a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in the window. And a space generation unit that generates display data necessary for displaying the space in a window based on the generated display data. Electronic processing to give the impression that a unique world exists as one.

Here, each functional block included in the present system may be included in any of a server and a user terminal constituting the system. For example, page display,
The window providing unit and the space generating unit are represented by the same name regardless of whether they are included in the server or the user terminal, respectively. When these functions are provided in the form of software modules, they may be executed in either a server or a user terminal.

Still another preferred embodiment according to the present invention relates to a user terminal. This terminal is a page display unit that displays a web page, a window providing unit that displays a virtual window on the web page, and a space that reminds of the existence of a virtual world in the window. Receiving the display data required from the server, the window providing unit displays the space in a window based on the received display data, based on this display, a plurality of web pages Electronic processing to give the impression that the virtual world exists as one behind the scenes.

Still another preferred embodiment according to the present invention relates to a server. This server is a server that transmits data to the user terminal, and assuming that a virtual window is displayed on a web page displayed by the user terminal, a virtual world behind a plurality of web pages. A space generation unit that generates display data necessary to display a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in a window in order to impress that it exists as a unit, and transmits the generated display data to the user terminal And a transmitting unit.

Still another preferred embodiment according to the present invention relates to a computer program. This program is a program for displaying an object on a computer screen, and when a web page in which the program is embedded is read, a window providing function for displaying a virtual window on the web page; A receiving function of receiving display data necessary for displaying a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in the window from a server, and a window providing function of the window based on the received display data. The space is displayed inside, and based on this display, electronic processing is performed so as to impress that the virtual world exists integrally behind a plurality of web pages.

"Computer program" as used herein
May be a program executable on a PC as a user terminal. In this case, the program may be executed by a function included in the browser, or may be an applet whose data size is relatively small and transmission / reception is easy. It may be a program that can be executed on a web server, and in this case, it may be a servlet or CGI
(Common Gateway Interface).

Any combination of the above components,
What replaced the components and expressions of the present invention among methods, apparatuses, systems, computer programs, and the like is also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) The virtual world effect system in this embodiment displays a virtual window on a web page by the action of a program embedded in the web page in advance. By displaying a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in this window, it impresses that a virtual world exists behind the Internet. In the present embodiment, a program to be embedded in a web page is provided in the form of an applet executed on a user terminal.

The present system causes a predetermined character capable of interacting with a viewer of a web page to appear in a window with a setting of a resident of the virtual world, and allows the viewer to interact with the virtual world through this dialog. The navigation of the character guides the viewer one after another to a plurality of web pages provided with windows. In this way, the character is set to appear by walking across various web pages provided with windows, and the navigation of the character allows the viewer to feel that the space behind the Internet is integrated. Characters are set as playful creatures, thereby rendering the Internet more accessible.

The character comes out of one of the windows to make contact with the real world. The window where the character appears is configured so that the character can freely select it, but it may be set to appear frequently in a certain window, or set so that the same character can easily appear in a specific window Is also good.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a virtual world effect system. The virtual world effect system 10 includes an Internet 16
, A plurality of user terminals 12, a plurality of web servers 18, and a virtual world generation server 14 which are connected to each other via the Internet.

The user terminal 12 is a device used by a viewer of a web page. The user terminal 12 downloads an html file from a web server 18 via the Internet 16 and displays the web page on a browser. A predetermined applet is embedded in the web page, and the user terminal 1
2 executes an applet using a browser or the like. The user terminal 12 transmits and receives necessary data to and from the virtual world generation server 14 through applet processing.

The web server 18 is a device belonging to the provider of the web page, and publishes, for example, a homepage introducing the company, an electronic commerce site, and the like. The web page provider receives the applet from the system provider and embeds it in the web page.

The virtual world generation server 14 is a device belonging to the provider of the present system, and manages the entire system. The virtual world generation server 14 creates a virtual world by transmitting and receiving necessary data to and from an applet read by a browser on the user terminal 12.

User terminal 12, virtual world generation server 1
4 and the web server 18 are, in terms of hardware,
It can be realized by elements such as a computer CPU,
Although the software is realized by a program having a data transmission / reception function or the like, FIGS. 2 to 4 described below illustrate functional blocks realized by their cooperation. Therefore, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the web server 18. The web server 18 includes the communication unit 2
0, a web page holding unit 22, and a program holding unit 24. The communication unit 20 may have a router function or a server function in addition to a data transmission / reception function with the outside via the Internet 16. The web page holding unit 22 holds an html file described for displaying a web page. The program holding unit 24 holds an applet embedded in an html file. As an applet embedding method, an address indicating the program holding unit 24 that is a storage location of the applet, parameters necessary for executing the applet, and the like may be described in an html file.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal 12. As shown in FIG. The user terminal 12 includes a communication unit 30, a web page processing unit 32, a program execution unit 36, and a user information holding unit 52. The communication unit 30 transmits and receives data to and from the outside via the Internet 16. The web page processing unit 32 includes a page display unit 34. The web page processing unit 32 may be configured by software such as a browser. The web page processing unit 32 receives operations such as page switching from a web page viewer.
The page display unit 34 receives the web page addressed by the viewer via the communication unit 30 and displays the web page on the screen.

The program execution unit 36 executes an applet embedded in a web page. The program execution unit 36 may be configured by software such as a browser together with the web page processing unit 32. It includes a receiving section 50, an address specifying section 38, and an address transmitting section 40. The receiving unit 50 receives the applet and data necessary for executing the applet via the communication unit 30. Address designation unit 38
Receives a page switching instruction from the receiving unit 50, and specifies the address of a web page to be displayed by the page display unit 34. The address transmission unit 40 transmits the address of the web page being displayed by the page display unit 34 to the virtual world generation server 14 via the communication unit 30.

The address transmitting section 40 may detect not only the web page being displayed but also an address designated for the next display and transmit the detected address to the virtual world generation server 14. In this case, even if the applet is not embedded in the next specified web page, the virtual world generation server 14 can acquire the address of the page, so that the provider of the virtual world generation server 14 can grasp the trend of the viewer. It's easy to do.

The program execution section 36 further includes a user information transmission section 42 and a status transmission section 44. The user information transmitting unit 42 reads the user information from the user information holding unit 52 and transmits the user information to the virtual world generation server 14. The user information includes identification information that does not overlap with other viewers. The user information may be recorded in a cookie of the browser and repeatedly read out, or may be issued for each session and stored in the applet during the session.

The status transmitting section 44 is provided for the user terminal 12
Is transmitted to the virtual world generation server 14. The status referred to here is, for example, “displaying page A”, “designating page B as the next page”, “page A
, To the page B ”.

The program execution unit 36 further includes a window providing unit 46 and a character providing unit 48. Window providing unit 46
Displays a virtual window on a web page and displays a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in the window. The display data required to display this space is:
The receiving unit 50 receives from the virtual world generation server 14.

Display data is generated by the virtual world generation server 14 in a form associated with display data transmitted to another web page on which a window is displayed in order to give a sense of unity to the virtual world. Thus, a space common to other web pages can be displayed in the window.

The character providing unit 48 displays a character in a window. The character providing unit 48 controls the character to interact with the viewer. The receiving unit 50 transmits the conversation data necessary for this conversation and the control data necessary for controlling the movement of the character to the virtual world generation server 1.
4 to receive. This electronically creates a scene where the viewer interacts with the virtual world behind the Internet through the window.

When a page is switched between a plurality of web pages displaying a window, the character providing unit 48
Based on the conversation data, the character is uttered in a continuous story before and after switching. A method for giving continuity to the story will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the virtual world generation server 14. Virtual world generation server 14
Includes a communication unit 60, a user information processing unit 88, a user information holding unit 90, a transmission unit 74, a spatial processing unit 62, and a link processing unit 76. The communication unit 60 may have a router function or a server function in addition to a function of transmitting and receiving data.

The user information processing section 88 receives user information from the user terminal 12 via the communication section 60 and specifies the user terminal 12 by comparing the received user information with the information held by the user information holding section 90. When the user terminal 12 accesses for the first time, the user information processing unit 88 may register new user information in the user information holding unit 90 and notify the user terminal 12 of the new user information. The user information processing unit 88 may know who has accessed the information, and may total this for each web page.

The user information holding unit 90 may hold, as user information, an identification number, taste information, attribute information, and the like for each viewer.

The spatial processing unit 62 includes the status receiving unit 6
4, a status processing unit 66, a space generation unit 68, a dialog generation unit 70, a status information holding unit 72, and a character management unit 73. The status receiving section 64 receives status information from the user terminal 12. This status information is recorded in the status information holding unit 72 by the status processing unit 66. The status processing unit 66 recognizes the status of the user terminal 12 with reference to the status information holding unit 72, and based on this recognizes the data necessary for each of the space generation unit 68, the dialog generation unit 70, and the character management unit 73. provide.

The space generating section 68 generates display data necessary for forming a space in the window. The display data is generated on the assumption that the display data is transmitted to the plurality of user terminals 12, thereby displaying a common virtual world among the plurality of user terminals 12.

The dialog generation unit 70 generates dialog data necessary for character dialog. When a page is switched between a plurality of web pages on which a window is displayed, the dialog generation unit 70 performs dialogue in a manner that gives continuity of the story to the dialog of the character displayed in the window before and after the switching. Generate data. For example, when moving from page A to page B, a character such as "this is also interesting" may be uttered by the character. For example, when the user sequentially moves to page A, page B, and page C and then moves to page A, the continuation may be made based on the dialogue on page A. The dialogue generation unit 70 may generate the dialogue data according to the tastes and attributes of the viewer, or may generate the dialogue data according to the content of the web page being displayed.

The character management section 73 generates control data by managing the state, movement, orientation, and the like of the character.
Characters may be set as creatures traveling on various websites, or "absent" or "backward"
May be created.

The display data, dialog data, and control data are transmitted to the user terminal 12 via the transmission section 74.

In the interface of the present system, the dialogue between the viewer and the character always looks one-to-one from each viewer. However, the virtual world generation server 14 is connected to a plurality of user terminals 12 and can simultaneously interact with a plurality of viewers. For example, when a questionnaire response is received from a viewer, questionnaire results from other viewers are detected, and "Ye
s was 48 people, and No was 52 people. " In this way, one-to-many conversation is possible when viewed from a specific character. In addition, different characters are set for each web page, and these can work together to aggregate the questionnaire results,
Virtually many-to-many dialogue is also possible.

The link processing section 76 includes a switching instruction section 78, a link reading section 80, an address receiving section 82, a link information holding section 84, and a link recording section 86. The address receiving unit 82 receives an address of a web page from the user terminal 12. In the user terminal 12, when a page is switched between a plurality of web pages under the instruction of the viewer, the address receiving unit 82 receives the addresses before and after the page switching. These addresses are recorded by the link recording unit 86 in the link information holding unit 84 as inter-page links.

The inter-page link is different from a bookmark, which is one of the functions realized by the browser, and is a record in which a plurality of web pages are linked to each other, for example, “from page A to page B”. In the case of “from page A to page B”, page A may be recorded as “link source” and page B as “link destination”. It may be recorded in the form of a personal bookmark for each viewer, or may be recorded in the form of a bookmark shared by all viewers regardless of who viewed the page.

The link recording unit 86 may record the contents of the dialog at the time of page switching together with the inter-page link. The recorded dialog content may be used later as a hint for the relevance between pages.

Thereafter, when the viewer revisits the web page recorded as the inter-page link, the switching instruction unit 7
8 instructs the user terminal 12 to reproduce page switching based on the inter-page link. Whether the address is “revisit” is determined based on whether the address received by the address receiving unit 82 is recorded in the link information holding unit 84 as “link source”. Then, the switching instruction unit 78 transmits the “link destination” address to the user terminal 12 as an instruction to reproduce page switching based on the inter-page link. As a result, the web page that the viewer has visited in the past can be returned again at an arbitrary timing. When the viewer habitually browses some pages, he / she can automatically browse a plurality of pages in order without waiting for the instruction.

A new viewer may be instructed to switch pages based on the inter-page link that records the pages visited by other viewers. In this case, the page designated as the "link destination" is the first visit for the viewer.
When there are a plurality of inter-page links having a common "link source" and different "link destinations", the "link destination" may be selected at random.

In this way, the number of accesses to the web page recorded as the link between pages can be increased. For web page providers, inter-page links to various other web pages are set in a self-proliferating manner by simply embedding an applet, and the number of accesses can be easily increased.

Here, the link on the web page is often provided in the form of an advertisement banner. However, pages flooded with advertising banners look bad and obtrusive, and conversely seem to be imposed. In the present embodiment, the user naturally navigates to the link destination in the dialogue with the viewer using the inter-page link.

FIG. 5 shows a window displayed on a web page. The window 100 includes a space display area 102 in which a virtual space is drawn and is visually represented so as to give a viewer a sense as if they are looking into the virtual space from the window. In the space display area 102, a character 104 and conversation contents 106 are displayed as its utterance.

In window 100, text field 1
18, character level 108, doorbell button 110,
A question button 112, a Yes button 114, and a No button 116 are further displayed. The viewer can enter text into the text field 118 to interact with the character 104.

The character level 108 indicates the degree of interaction between the character and the viewer and the depth of interaction. The doorbell button 110 is a button for calling a character when no character is displayed in the space display area 102. For example, a setting may be made so that the character sleeps every day, and if the doorbell sounds during sleep, the character is awakened and the conversation is started. If the page is frequently accessed during the day, the setting may be set to sleep at night, and if the page is accessed frequently at night, the setting may be set to sleep during the day. The character level and the sleep of the character may be managed by the character management unit 73 in FIG.

The question button 112 is a button for switching to a screen for accepting a question from a viewer. The creator of the web page may prepare its own web page introduction sentence in advance, and the introduction sentence may be displayed when the viewer presses the question button 112. The Yes button 114 and the No button 116 are answer buttons for a question from the character.

FIG. 6 shows a table in which the status of the viewer is recorded. This table is data recorded in the status information holding unit 72 of FIG.
30, a status update date / time column 132, and a status column 134. In the user information column 130, an identification number included in the user information is recorded. Status column 134
, The status of the viewer is recorded in association with the user information. This status is updated each time it is received from the user terminal 12, and the date and time are recorded in the status update date and time column 132. For example, as shown in the figure, a viewer whose user information is “84378943” has 20
It is recorded that the user has moved from page A to page B at 4:30:10 pm on March 1, 2001.

FIG. 7 shows a table in which inter-page links are recorded. This table corresponds to the link information holding unit 8 in FIG.
4, a link number column 140, a link source address column 142, a link destination address column 144,
And a description column 146 are included. Link number field 140
Records the serial number given to the recorded inter-page link. Link source address field 142
Records the address before the page switching. The address after page switching is recorded in the link destination address field 144. In the explanatory note column 146, the content of the dialogue to be displayed when the page switching is reproduced is recorded.

For example, “http: //www.○” recorded as the link source address in link 1 as shown in the figure
When a visitor accesses `` XX.co.jp '', `` http: //www.△△△.ne.j
Switch to "p" and display the character string "This is also interesting" on the window as the utterance of the character. This description is
The page may be displayed after the page is switched, or may be displayed before the page is switched and the page may be switched on the condition that the viewer agrees to the page.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a link map.
The link recording unit 86 connects the plurality of inter-page links to generate a link map 160 represented in a diagram, and records this in the link information holding unit 84. As the number of links between pages increases, the link map spreads like a mesh. The link map may be formed in a spherical shape. The link recording unit 86 weights each of the lines forming the link map with the reproduction frequency of the page switching, and changes the line thickness according to the frequency to display the lines. The switching instruction unit 78 selects a route with a high reproduction frequency based on the weight, and transmits an address corresponding to the route to the user terminal 12. In this drawing, the link 152 is shown thicker than the link 150 and the link 154, indicating that the frequency of the link 152 is highest when viewed from webA. When the user browses webA, the switching instruction unit 78 selects the link 152 and
Switch to G.

FIG. 8 shows the data flow between the browser, the web page, and the virtual world generation server.
In the figure, the flow is divided into four parts: a browser, a page A and an applet A, a page B and an applet B, and a virtual world generation server 14, but these do not necessarily indicate respective hardware units. Absent. The page or the program may be stored in the web server, or may be downloaded and read by the browser.

First, when the browser refers to page A (S10), page A and applet A embedded in page A are downloaded to the browser, and a web page and a window are displayed on the screen (S12). Next, the applet A transmits the user information and the address of the page being displayed to the virtual world generation server 14 (S14).

The virtual world generation server 14 specifies a viewer based on the user information (S16), and specifies its status (S18). Next, the page being displayed is specified (S20), and if there is an inter-page link associated with the page, this is acquired (S22). The acquired inter-page link is transmitted to the applet A (S24).

The applet A instructs the browser to switch pages (S26), and the virtual world generation server 14
To the status that the page is moving (S2).
8), the status is recorded by the virtual world generation server 14 (S30). When the browser refers to page B as the switching destination (S32), page B and applet B embedded in page B are downloaded, and the web page and window are displayed on the screen (S34). Next, the applet B transmits the user information and the address of the page being displayed to the virtual world generation server 14 (S36).

The virtual world generation server 14 specifies a viewer based on the user information (S38), and specifies its status (S40). When the virtual world generation server 14 detects that the page is switched by the inter-page link (S42), the dialog data according to the status is transmitted to the applet B (S44). Based on the conversation data, the contents of the conversation are displayed on the browser together with the character (S46).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present system. First, a web page is displayed on a browser screen (S50), and an applet is executed to display a window on the web page (S52). The applet transmits the user information and the address of the page being displayed to the virtual world generation server 14 (S54). The virtual world generation server 14 specifies a viewer (S56), specifies its status (S58), and generates interactive data according to the status (S60).

The virtual world generation server 14 specifies the page displayed by the browser (S62), and if an inter-page link based on this page is held (S62).
64Y), and instructs switching to the page recorded as the link destination (S66). Next, after the status indicating that the page is being moved is recorded (S68), the process returns to S50, and the linked page is displayed on the browser (S50).
As described above, until a page not recorded as an inter-page link is displayed (S64N), steps S50 to S6 are performed.
Step 8 is repeated.

(Second Embodiment) The virtual world generation server 14 in this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that an advertisement is once displayed before a character appears in a window on a web page.
Different from the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a window displaying an advertisement in the space display area. For example, the display of the virtual world may be started after an advertisement as shown in the figure is played for several seconds. The virtual world generation server 14 may hold the advertisement data in advance and randomly display the advertisement in the window.
The advertisement data may be distributed from an advertisement server separate from the virtual world generation server 14. When an advertisement in the window is clicked by the viewer, for example, detailed advertisement information may be flown or the web page of the advertiser may be switched.

The provider of the virtual world generation server 14 may collect the advertisement fee from the advertiser, and may provide the service of the web page in which the applet is embedded free of charge. The service operation cost may be compensated for by providing the viewer with a paid additional service.

The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. . Hereinafter, modified examples will be described.

In the modified example, one character lives in one window, and the provider of the web page becomes the owner of the character. The character interacts with characters on other web pages to create a virtual world. The character management unit 73 manages which website provider is the owner for each character. A theme may be given to the character according to the owner's instruction, and various information may be acquired and accumulated from a website suitable for the theme. The accumulated information may be recorded as a “journey diary” obtained by traveling various websites, and may be reported to the owner periodically.

In the first and second embodiments, the address transmitting section 40 shown in FIG. 3 is configured to receive the address of the web page being displayed from the page display section 34 and transmit it. In a modified example, the address may be described in advance in an applet embedded in a web page or in an html file.

In the first and second embodiments, it is assumed that an applet is embedded in a web page in advance. In a modified example, the function of a server for distributing an applet to a web page provider is created in a virtual world. The server 14 may have a configuration. In this case, the virtual world generation server 14 may permit download of the applet and provide information such as an html tag that needs to be described when embedding the applet.

In the modification, the virtual world generation server 1
4 may distribute the game to the applet. This game may be a form executed on a browser or a form executed on a web server. The viewer of the web page can enjoy the game against the character.

[0075]

According to the present invention, the Internet can be expressed as a more familiar one.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a virtual world effect system.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a web server.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a virtual world generation server.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a window displayed on a web page.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table in which the status of a viewer is recorded.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a table in which inter-page links are recorded.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a data flow between a browser, a web page, and a virtual world generation server.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a window displaying an advertisement in a spatial display area.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a link map.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 virtual world effect system, 12 user terminals,
14 virtual world generation server, 18 web server,
34 page display section, 38 addressing section, 40
Address transmitting unit, 46 window providing unit, 48 character providing unit, 50 receiving unit, 68 space generating unit, 7
0 dialog generation unit, 74 transmission unit, 78 switching instruction unit,
82 address receiving unit, 86 link recording unit, 1
60 link maps.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Taro Endo 2-16-4 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Sands Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Daisuke Ito 2-16-4 Higashi, Shibuya-ku Tokyo F-term (reference) 5B075 KK07 ND16 ND20 ND36 PQ02 PR04 UU40

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A Web page in which a function for displaying a virtual window is embedded in advance, a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world is displayed in the window displayed by the function, and this display is performed. A virtual world production method, wherein electronic processing is performed to give an impression that the world exists integrally behind a plurality of web pages. 2. When the windows are displayed on a plurality of web pages related to a plurality of providers, respectively, a common space is displayed in the windows, so that the world is displayed behind the plurality of web pages. 2. The virtual world effect producing method according to claim 1, wherein electronic processing is performed so as to impress that the object exists as a unit. 3. Displaying a character in the window and controlling the character to interact with a viewer of the web page. Based on the interaction, the viewer interacts with the world through the window. 3. The virtual world production method according to claim 1, wherein a scene to be created is created electronically. 4. When page switching is instructed by a viewer between a plurality of web pages displaying the window, addresses before and after the switching are recorded as inter-page links, and the browser or 4. The virtual world effect method according to claim 2, wherein the page switching is reproduced based on the inter-page link when a new viewer visits the web page. 5. When a page is switched between a plurality of web pages on which the window is displayed, a dialogue of the character displayed in the window before and after the switching has a story continuity. The virtual world effect method according to any one of claims 3 and 4, wherein 6. A page display unit for displaying a web page, a window providing unit for displaying a virtual window on the web page, and displaying a space reminiscent of a virtual world in the window. And a space generation unit that generates display data necessary for displaying the space in the window based on the generated display data, based on the display, behind a plurality of web pages. A virtual world effect system, wherein electronic processing is performed to give an impression that the world exists as one. 7. The window providing unit is formed in the form of a computer program that can be embedded in the web page, and the space generating unit has the program embedded in advance in a plurality of web pages related to a plurality of providers. 7. The virtual world production system according to claim 6, wherein when the display is performed, the display data is generated so as to display a common space in windows displayed by the programs. 8. A page display unit for displaying a web page, a window providing unit for displaying a virtual window on the web page, and displaying a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in the window. A receiving unit for receiving display data necessary for the server from the server, the window providing unit displays the space in the window based on the received display data, based on the display, A user terminal, wherein electronic processing is performed so as to impress that said world exists integrally behind a plurality of web pages. 9. The display data received by the receiving unit is provided by the server in a form associated with display data transmitted to another web page on which the window is displayed, in order to give the world a sense of unity. The window providing unit is configured to display a common space with the other web page in the window based on the display data, so that the world is integrally present behind a plurality of web pages. 9. The user terminal according to claim 8, wherein electronic processing is performed so as to impress the user terminal. 10. A character providing unit for displaying a character in the window, wherein the receiving unit receives, from the server, interaction data necessary for causing the character to interact with a viewer of the web page. Having a function, the character providing unit controls the character to interact with the viewer based on the received interaction data, and based on this interaction, the viewer interacts with the world through the window. The user terminal according to claim 8, wherein a scene to be created is created electronically. 11. An address transmitting unit for transmitting, to the server, addresses before and after the switching when a page switching is instructed by a viewer among a plurality of web pages on which the window is displayed, to be displayed. An address specifying unit that specifies an address of a web page. The receiving unit has a function of receiving a page switching instruction from the server, and the address specifying unit is configured to execute the web based on the page switching instruction. The user terminal according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the page is switched to another web page. 12. The interactive data received by the receiving unit, when a page is switched between a plurality of web pages on which the window is displayed, the story before and after the switching has continuity. 12. The server according to claim 10, wherein the server is configured to control the character providing unit to cause the character to speak in a continuous story before and after the switching based on the conversation data. User terminal as described. 13. A server for transmitting data to a user terminal, on the assumption that a virtual window is displayed on a web page displayed by the user terminal, wherein the world is integrated behind a plurality of web pages. A space generation unit that generates display data necessary to display a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in the window in order to impress the existence of the display data, and the generated display data to the user terminal. A server, comprising: a transmitting unit for transmitting; 14. The space generating unit, when the window is displayed on each of a plurality of user terminals, generates the display data such that a common space is displayed in the window. 14. The server according to claim 13, wherein: 15. A dialog generation unit that generates dialog data necessary for causing the character to interact with a viewer of the web page, on the assumption that the user terminal displays a character in the window. The server according to any one of claims 13 and 14, wherein the transmission unit has a function of transmitting the interaction data to the user terminal. 16. An address receiving unit for receiving, from the user terminal, addresses before and after the switching when a page switching is instructed by a viewer among a plurality of web pages displaying the window, A link recording unit that records addresses before and after switching as an inter-page link, and after switching as an instruction to reproduce the page switching based on the inter-page link when the viewer or a new viewer visits the web page. The server according to any one of claims 13 to 15, further comprising: a switching instruction unit configured to transmit the address of the user terminal to the user terminal. 17. The link recording unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inter-page links are connected to each other and displayed in a diagram, and a link map is generated in which each line is weighted by the reproduction frequency of the page switching. 17. The server according to claim 16, which performs the following. 18. The server according to claim 17, wherein the switching instructing unit selects a route having a high reproduction frequency in accordance with the weighting, and transmits an address corresponding to the route to the user terminal. . 19. When a page is switched between a plurality of web pages on which the window is displayed, the dialog generation unit continues the story with the dialog of the character displayed in the window before and after the switching. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the dialogue data is generated in a manner having a certain characteristic.
8. The server according to any one of 8. 20. A program for displaying an object on a computer screen, comprising: a window providing function for displaying a virtual window on the web page when the web page in which the program is embedded is read out; A receiving function for receiving display data necessary for displaying a space reminiscent of the existence of a virtual world in the window from a server, wherein the window providing function is based on the received display data. To display the space in the window, and based on this display,
A computer program for performing electronic processing so as to impress that said world exists integrally behind a plurality of web pages. 21. The server, wherein the display data received by the receiving function is associated with display data transmitted to another web page in which the program is embedded in order to give the world a sense of unity. 21. The computer program according to claim 20, wherein the window providing function displays a common space with the other web page in the window based on the display data. 22. The apparatus further comprising a character function of displaying a character in the window, wherein the receiving function receives, from the server, interaction data necessary for causing the character to interact with a viewer of the web page. The character function controls the character to interact with the viewer based on the received interaction data, and based on the interaction, the viewer interacts with the world through the window. 22. The computer program according to claim 20, wherein the computer program is created electronically.