Extending Web Browsers with a Unity 3D-Based Virtual Worlds Viewer

Many virtual worlds are accessed via a rich client interface that must be downloaded and installed into the user's environment. For many users, especially enterprise users, this large download and install represents a significant obstacle to virtual world acceptance. The authors describe a technical implementation that uses the Unity 3D browser plug-in as a way to access a virtual world from within a Web browser. Using this familiar tool, users can interact with the rich virtual environments provided by Second Life and OpenSimulator.