User:Memory 001/Personal Agent World

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Personal Agent World is media content originally run by So-net Entertainment Co. It is frequently shortened to "PAW" (as which it will be referred to hereafter).

PAW was a 3D chat communication space which used VRML data through a browser (Name:) created specifically for VRML by So-net. It represented users as Avatars. The service ended on September 30, 2004.

Overview
PAW is a 3D Virtual World that contained a large circular island with a radius of 500 meters. Since it was created to use VRML 2.0, up to 1000 people could join the network at the same time. It was developed independently and used VRML data interpreted through a browser created specifically to display VRML encoded information.

Downloads started on May 12, 1998. It was announced that operation of the service would continue on September 27, 1998, despite the end of the related experiment which was happening during September 1998.

PAW featured a virtual pet dog called an agent which had an address and travelled separately from the user. It would act as a guide to the user and would engage in conversation, independently send emails to the user, or tour the user around the world of PAW.

In PAW, one day lasted 2 hours, and the lifespan of an agent would be 8 years. After this amount of time passes, a new one would be born to take its place.

The currency used on the island was a special currency called Polygo. It could be used in shops to purchase pet food or items.

Additionally, the island experienced changes in season each week. At the beginning of a new season, not only would the landscape change colour, but seasonal fireworks and similar events would be held. A ranking and other resources could be found on the So-net website.

Characters
Characters from Tama and Friends created by Sony Creative Products would stroll around the island. Additionally, PostPet characters could occasionally be found on the island.

Episodes, etc.

 * PAW was a 3D chat software and online communication game, a genre that is rarely found today. However, its concept of avatars are not as rare today, nor was its groundbreaking features including conversation or changing of hairstyles or clothes. Furthermore, the concepts it introduced, such as the inability to converse with others outside a certain radius, the existence of a pet with which the user could communicate and speak with, or the ability to revive said pet if it died early using medicine, were all separate features in various other experimental games of the time. The program was a media sensation upon release.
 * When the service started in 1998, it was attached to the appendix of many magazines. However, upon initial release, due to its high specification requirements, there were many users who used it attached to the NTT's unmetered telephone service, or supported it using machines.
 * Users of the official version decreased as they transferred to shareware. PAW^2 and related software continued to release despite this, but most users needed to re-join So-net.
 * After 2001, with the arrival of the network game boom, the number of PAW users decreased. Online community games similar to PAW, such as Gogo City, began to appear, and since many were free, it was difficult to earn a profit from users. As a result, the service ended on September 30, 2004.

Also See
SAPARi