An increasingly large number of users connect to virtual worlds on a regular basis to conduct activities ranging from gaming to business meetings. In all these worlds, users project themselves into the environment via an avatar: a 3D body which they control and whose appearance is often customizable. However, considering the prevalence of this form of embodiment, there is a surprising lack of data about how and why users customize their avatar, as well as how easy and satisfying the existing avatar creation tools are. In this paper, we report on a study investigating these issues through a questionnaire administered to more than a hundred users of three virtual worlds offering widely different avatar creation and customization systems (Maple Story, World of Warcraft, and Second Life). We illustrate the often-surprising choices users make when creating their digital representation and discuss the impact of our findings for the design of future avatar creation systems.

The Kannon project at the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Taiwan has designed a smart PDA phone, christened Health Pal, to help elders to manage their healthcare needs such as planning their own physician visits, medication schedules, exercise routines as well as monitoring their blood pressures, pulse rates and oxygen levels. The paper reports the design concepts of the device as well as the activity oriented approach the team undertook during the design process. A comparison of this device against several similar prototypes was also included to highlight its unique features.