Google representatives report that the company Google is preparing a new revolutionary product called Google Goggles, an interactive visor that will present Internet content in three dimensions.

Apparently the recent rumours of a Google phone refers to a product that is much more innovative than the recent Apple iPhone.

“Yes, that is true,” Google’s Sergey Brin says to Reuters. “The Google Goggles may indeed function as a phone, but that is not their main purpose. The main purpose is to give users a three dimensional interface with the Internet.”

Note that he uses the word “Internet” and not “the Web”. The reason for this is that Google’s new approach to online content delivery goes beyond what the present protocols for the World Wide Web can deliver.

The Google Goggles are developed in cooperation with Israeli Mirage Innovations

Google’s new three dimensional virtual reality

Anyone putting on “the Googgles” — as the insiders call them — will be immersed in a three dimensional “stereo-vision” virtual reality called 3dLife. 3dLife is a pun referring to the three dimensional nature of the interface, but also a reference to the increasingly popular Second Life virtual reality.

The “home page” of 3dLife is called “the Library”, a virtual room with virtual books categorized according to the Dewey system. Each book presents a knowledge resource within 3dLife or on the regular World Wide Web. If you pick the book for Pandia, Google will open the Pandia Web site within the frame of a virtual painting hanging on the wall in the virtual library.

However, Google admits that many users may find this too complicated.

The Google librarian

“There is no point in supplementing the current simplistic and very user friendly two dimensional Google Web home page with virtual reality unless this makes it easier for searchers to find what they are looking for,” Matt Cutts of Google says, “which is why we have included a virtual librarian.”

People who have visited Microsoft’s experimental search site Ms. Dewey may have an idea of where Google is heading. Ms. Dewey is a fully animated search engine, based on a lot of video footage of a librarian in a futuristic city landscape.

Matt Cutts denies that Google have gotten their idea from Ms. Dewey.

“Ms. Dewey is not the first virtual librarian around,” Cutts says, “as far as I know the concept was invented by the science fiction author Neal Stephenson in the novel Snow Crash in 1992, at the same time as the World Wide Web was born. Stephenson imagined a three dimensional virtual reality called the Metaverse.

“3dLife is to a large extent that Metaverse,” Cutts explains. “Our librarian is our homage to Stephensons own online librarian, a computer generated avatar that helps people find what they are looking for in a friendly manner.”

Given that the Googgles have an built-in sub-vocalizing microphone, you can ask the Librarian your question in a regular manner, and the Librarian will interact with you as would any normal person.

“The system is not perfect,” Cutts admits, “the present beta version of the Librarian still has difficulties understanding sarcasm and humor, but we are working on this.”

Alternative skins for the library avatar

For the moment there is only one “skin” available for the Librarian, a male avatar played by Sir Ian Mckellen, the British actor playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies. Google is however working on developing alternative skins. Actors Rick Moranis and Joan Cusack have been approached.

Google is vehemently denying that they are going to open up the source code for librarian skin development, though. “We are not going to let the porn industry develop their own avatars for our librarian,” Cutts says, although he is not denying plans for developing tailor made librarians for companies and PR campaigns. This may be one way of monetizing the service. Another is to include 3D “AdWords” in search results:

“Yes, we will include AdWords in frames on the Library wall,” Cutts explains. Companies may also pay to get objects representing their products within their library: “Ikea may for instance pay us to include their Billy bookshelves in the virtual room itself,” Cutt says.

Use your Google ID to get an avatar

The Library is but a small part of 3dLife, though; outside the door to the library is a complete world in 3D, with buildings, shops, bars, parks and art, much in the same vein as Second Life, MTVs virtual vMTV and Playstation Home, the main difference being, of course, that 3dLife represents a true three dimensional world, and not a flat-screen 2d version of it.

Anyone with a Google ID (i.e. a Gmail address) can get an avatar or an alter ego in 3dLife.

The Google monopoly

The birth of 3dLife has led anti Google activists to attack Google.

Fredrick Bannerman of the blog Google is not God argues that this is part of Google’s plan for world domination: “What they are trying to do is to replace the two dimensional Web with 3dLife,” he says, “establishing a virtual monopoly on the technology used to disseminate technology on the Web.”

He argues that the open source community must establish their own 3D alternative to 3dLife, which he and many Linux enthusiasts calls “Otherland”. (Yes it is another Science Fiction reference — to Tad Williams this time.)

The problem for any open source alternative, though, is processing power. It is extremely costly to generate real three dimensinal rooms like 3dLife, even if 3dLife is far from as photo realistic as two dimensional Xbox and Playstation games.

Google buys cheap Playstation 3 consoles

Google’s enormous server park is already having problems dealing with all the traffic generated from searches, free Gmail accounts, Google Maps etc., and is in no way capable of handling a large number of 3dLife logons.

Matt Cutts is not willing to explain how Google is going to solve this problem, but rumor has it that they are buying a large number of ripped down Playstation 3 consoles from Sony (without the Blu-ray drives that is), and will connect these consoles to the Google server park. Sony is apparently having big problems selling enough PS3 machines, and this is one way of getting rid of the surplus.

Google 3D games

Some observers argue that Sony has made a deal with the devil. “Google’s 3dLife is perfect for games,” games expert Lana Roberts says, “and who is to stop them from building an alternative gaming platform to the Xbox and Playstation?”

Indeed, Google has already approached Blizzard Entertainment, the people behind the very popular online role playing game World of Warcraft. The idea is to add a new version of Azeroth, the WOW fantasy world, to 3dLife.

In order to make active Googgle role playing possible, however, the present version of the glasses needs to be upgraded significantly, processor and memory wise. A new quad processor for Intel available late this fall should make this possible, though.

Prada Googgles, but no Apple killer

There is more to the Google Goggles than search and virtual realities. Google wants the “Googgles” to be a fashion statement in the way the iPod is now, and has asked Prada to design a new high end version to be launched next year.

Moreover, the “Googgles” are in many ways believed to be an iPod killer in its own right. The attached stereo ear buds are perfectly capable of playing music and movie sound tracks, and you can use the vizor to watch regular YouTube clips and 3D versions of movies. YouTube is an definitely a part of the Google vizor strategy.

Still, Google has a long way to go as regards content delivery. NBC and News Corporation are stopping Google from getting access to important TV content, at the same time as Google has found it hard to develop a Apple iTunes music store killer.

“At the moment Google’s secret music store contains nothing more the back catalog of Tome Jones and a lot of Ukrainian balalaika music,” one insider says, ” and that is not enough to convince young people that Google is cool.”

Google the streets with Googgles

Google will also combine the Googgles with their Google Maps and Google Earth Services.

“You can use the Googgles when walking down a city street,” Matt Cutt says. “The Googgles have a built in GPS, and will automatically download the relevant satellite images and maps from Google. The built in cameras will make it possible to superimpose information and ads on your view of the city street. If you look at a department store, the Googgles will bring you the latest bargains from that store. If you look at a museum, you will get the opening hours and info on the present exhibitions. And if you can’t find your cinema, you just ask your librarian, and he will give you the direction.”

Peril Sensitive Sunglasses

And what’s next?

“We now have the possibility of mixing 3dLife with real life,” Barbie Barbara of Google says. “This means that we can make real life a more beautiful place to live. If you live in a run down neighborhood, we can add new and more beautiful buildings to the scenery, and use noise reduction to take away the traffic. Indeed, we may even help you to replace ugly neighbors with movie stars. There are just too many ugly people in the world.”

Google representatives hope that the company will get support from the US federal authorities as this “beautification” is considered to be less costly than regular urban renewal programs.