Description of Project’s Features

Let us start with the description of the virtual world itself and its possibilities. Deeptown is representing a virtual city, so called communicatory-entertaining subspace, which can serve as for entertaining and business related purposes.

I would call Deeptown a new phase of the worldwide network development. Now instead of boring two-dimensional Internet a colourful three-dimensional world will open to users with all of the advantages of the Internet in it and new possibilities of Deeptown. For instance, it would be much easier for the manufacturers to show the customers their product in 3D, with its entire characteristics, rather then placing numerous pictures on web-pages from which, usually, the buyer can’t figure out all the advantages of the product in question.

Now lets move on to the services of Deeptown.

The first and most important service – is the access to Deeptown. The access means the entrance to the virtual city and the possibility to use all provided services.

During the registration everyone gets a free “hotel room”. Here the user can keep his personal data, files, books, or something else. Only the owner of the personal domicile can enter it, or someone invited by the owner. Conversations in the personal space won’t be heard outside.

Also the user will receive a credit card. This card is serving as a visual interface of his bank account. The account is a real account in the bank so the users can transfer and withdraw money from it. Everybody can transfer money to the account, but only the owner can use them.

Each user has a personal virtual HPC, which is always with its owner. It can fulfill many different functions. Below is the list of standard possibilities of the user HPC:

• A cellphone;
• A pager;
• A mail client;
• A contact list;
• Other. The user can also install new applications for his/her HPC, created, either by developers of the project, or by exterior programmers.

In his HPC the user can find a directory. In it, addresses and telephone numbers of interior organizations and establishments in Deeptown will be published. Juridical persons who wish to have their numbers in the directory can do this for a certain payment.

Using the HPC, the user can use the services of the IP- telephony. To put this differently, the user can call not only to the interior telephone of Deeptown, but also make a call to the “real world”. Any user can make a phone call both to exterior (real) numbers, and receive calls on personal phone number in Deeptown.

The population of Deeptown can use the traditional Internet-services, without necessarily dropping out of the virtual space. The WEB-browser, e-mail, ICQ, IRC, etc. will be available for the user as programs installed in HPC and the computer terminal.

The computer terminals will exist in the city, by means of which it will be possible to use services of the Internet network or carry out any other necessary operations.

Moreover the users will have the access to the virtual library. The library is a public establishment which stores books. The books are the analogues of the web-pages on the Internet. They will be available in two different types: payable and free. If the book is chargeable, the user must pay the author in order to read the book. Any user or organization can publish a book and store it in the library. The people of Deeptown can also take the books with them and read them at home

Also, a labour exchange will be available for the inhabitants of Deeptown, where some organization may offer a remote work via Deeptown, and users, naturally, can browse all available vacancies.

If the user’s hotel room is for some reason doesn’t suits him, he can rent or buy an apartment, office or house.

The territory in Deeptown can be sold or rent to physical or juridical persons. The price can depend on different factors (such as situation, size etc.). In some city districts there are limitations on the appearance of the buildings, therefore the owners of the territory must follow the architectural integrity of the city.

On its territory, the organization can open a private establishment. It can be an online-game, a club or any other service, which can be either payable or free.

Also in Deeptown there are such services as picture galleries (museums/exhibitions). Each user may enter the gallery and examine the exhibitions which are selected by professionals or make a selection of pictures by himself. All pictures will be represented as in real exhibition hall, framed and placed on walls. If the user wishes, he can use “picture storage”, where he may find entire collection of pictures with an appropriate assortment.

Let us move on to the description of the client program.

The client program includes two things: three-dimensional browser and an environment for the launching of applications.

After the authorization in Deeptown, the user finds himself in a three-dimensional subspace of the city and now can walk, talk and perform different actions with the surrounding items. At that needed programs will be launched, which are represented as half-transparent windows, in which different actions with the items can be carried out.

For instance, during the entrance into a zone with limited access, the user will be offered to type the login and password; in different stores and exhibitions the half-transparent windows will appear on the screen, with colourful description of the wares or object, which is more comfortable than looking at the virtual price list.

For the storage of different kind of data (3D objects, files, user’s personal options, etc.) a new unique tillage of our team will be used – the virtual file system (TVFS). It will essentially enlarge the possibilities of the ”traditional” file system.

TVFS is representing a tree of links to various data. The source to these data can be anything: it can be an “ordinary” file, recording in the object’s database, deleted file (accessible by one of the standard protocols, such as FTP, HTTP, SMB etc.), a file in zip-archives etc.. Different parts of the tree can be stored in different bearers (hard disc, flash-map, and server). Some part of the tree can be dynamical: at that they will adapt to the user, which helps finding needed information immediately.

The client program is arranged so that its functionality can enlarge due to modules, written by exterior programmers. Thanks to the building conception of the program interface, these enlargements can very versatile, for example:

• Support of some file format or data source;
• Realization of background operation;
• Element of the interface;
• Replacement of standard engines;
• More

Also, the Deeptown programs can be launched not only in the client, but also in various excisting platforms, such as:

• HPC or Smatphone;
• Web-browser (using AJAX technologies);
• Common window application Windows/Linux X11/Mac (using Qt library)
• Cellphone with an J2ME support (functionality is limited by the phone)

Thus you can even use programs through your virtual HPC on the real HPC. And if you have only a computer with a usual web-browser at your disposal – don’t get disappointed; the entire software will be available in the browser window.

One of the most important tasks of the project is to provide user with a comfortable environment for communication. And in that case, Deeptown has proved itself by gathering all known IM-protocols. The user won’t even need to install additional software, one just need to type the address of our server in the favourite program instead of the standard server, and you will receive loads of additional options:

• Interaction with users, which are using any other protocols (for instance it won’t be a problem to communicate with ICQ user via IRC and vice versa);
• Interaction with Deeptown users by interior protocol of the project;
• Browsing of all chat logs by means of suitable interface for the user (as for all interfaces, a web-interface is available);
• Searching of dialogues in logs by keywords or tags;
• Using of the browser as a communication client;
• Unified info media, which includes interaction, e-mail, browsing of web-pages and launching of Deeptown applications.