From Web Services to Virtual Services - The Architecture and Patterns for 3D Services

The evolution of the web triggered XML and web services which pave the way for world-wide information integration and service integration. Web 2.0 concepts and technologies further enriched community based web services. Now with debut of virtual world, there come the opportunities of new types of services with which services providers and services consumers could interact in immersive services environments. Virtual services or 3D services provide new service opportunities that existing web services cannot provide. In this paper, we compare the interaction patterns for web services and virtual services. We propose an architecture for virtual services and list its implications for new business models.