Automatic generation of virtual worlds for electronic commerce applications on the Internet

The Internet has become an important media for commercial applications. Today, many vendors offer their goods with Internet-based technology like the World Wide Web. The work described here focuses on the advantages of 3D-worlds for shopping applications on the Internet and describes the prototype of a software tool that automatically generates 3D-models of Virtual Supermarkets. These supermarkets are distributed on the internet or other media, e.g. CD-ROM. Based on the experiences with previously developed generators for Windows- and Java-based supermarkets both design considerations and software aspects are discussed in detail. An important feature is the system's ability to generate individualized supermarkets for each customer's specific needs and demands. Finally, current and future work as well as new ideas for further development are presented.