From: havendam@worldonline.nl (Havendam Palace Development)
Subject: ANNOUNCE: World Online Presents Havendam, an Avatar Chat Site
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 16:11:02 GMT
Message-ID: <3267ac02.10144484@news.worldonline.nl>
Organization: World Online


For Immediate Release

World Online is pleased to announce the launch of Havendam, an Avatar
Chat site. Created with the Palace software and protocol, developed by
Time-Warner, Havendam offers graphical chat environments where users
can assume avatars (personal icons) and communicate in real time
within a visual fantasy world.

World Online's Avatar Chat site is created for Dutch users, providing
a world accessible network space based upon Dutch culture and history.
Havendam is a fictitious town dating from the VOC era, recently
discovered and restored into a modern, living city.

Havendam has the atmosphere of a typical Dutch port, including an old
center, canals, historic buildings and modern interiors. The
particular Netherlands mix of international and local culture is fully
represented.  Dutch is intended as the primary language, but many
others will undoubtedly be heard.

During the VOC era Havendam was a wealthy seaport, and a rather wild
city. The modern restoration has retained that character. We invite
you to visit Havendam. We trust you'll find your neighborhood and make
yourself at home.

At this moment the history of Havendam has not been made public, but
people wishing to receive it can send their email address to
burgemeester@havendam.worldonline.nl, or leave their postal address
with any World Online employee.

More information is available at http://www.havendam.worldonline.nl


About the Palace Software

Palace software is available at
http://www.havendam.worldonline.nl/software.
The download version has 80% of the functionality of the
registered version.  Users who register gain the ability to edit their
avatars and execute scripts for special effects. The Palace software
will be available via Dutch payment systems when Havendam comes out of
beta testing, on or before November 1st.


More information about the Palace and its software, plus other
download sites, can be found at http://www.thepalace.com

>From the Palace web site

[Blijft in Engels] The Palace is a metaverse, an entertainment
enabling technology which makes possible a multimedia, graphically
shared environment. It can best be described as a 'multimedia chat
architecture'. You can see, chat and interact with anyone else who is
on the same 'Palace server'. You have complete control over your
appearance (known as your "Face" or "avatar") -- it might be a picture
of your face or Bugs Bunny's head. You can move through different
"rooms" on that server and interact with games or other elements of
the programmable environment.

The way it works is most similar to the World Wide Web: there are
clients (the Palace software) and servers (the PServer). Both are
TCP/IP compliant, just like Web browser clients and Web servers. When
a Palace client jumps to a Palace server URL, the client presents a
virtual environment in which other avatars who are also on that server
are visible -- you can talk to them, interact with them, etc. -- as
well as the Palace environment on that server.


 Karel Bagchus			helpdesk@worldonline.nl
 World Online bv.		tel.   (+31) 035 - 699 87 77


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