Think Chat Is Flat? Firm Offers 2-D Personal ‘Rooms’ on Web

Charles Cortright wants to make cyberspace a bit more cozy.

After all, the chief executive of U&I; Interactive insists, exploring the World Wide Web can be an asocial experience. It’s a continual series of clicks through pages filled with images and text and sound--but no people.

Even chat can feel flat, especially for folks still lurking in the text-filled halls of America Online.

“People like talking and people like to explore new places,” said Cortright, whose Santa Ana firm rents digital “rooms” to Web surfers. “If you’re going to talk to someone, wouldn’t you rather do it in the privacy of your own room?”

Like its many competitors, U&I; Interactive has created software tools that build personalized rooms on the Web.

These “rooms” are actually two-dimensional pictures of different scenes. Users can choose from six settings, such as the strait-laced executive suite or the cheesy nightclub with a futuristic theme.

Visitors first go to the company’s Web site, at https://www.visitme.com Once there, they must choose an avatar, or a graphical representation of themselves. When a person “speaks,” the words appear in a bubble over the avatar’s head.

After the avatar is selected, users pick a room and, if they want, add a few personal touches, such as a robot dog that barks and rolls over on command.

Registration and the first month’s rent are free. After that, residents pay $2.95 to keep their room. The service, launched earlier this month, has already rented out 360 rooms.

“We want to be the largest landlord on the Internet,” Cortright said. “We want to be a place [where] people go to navigate and talk and shop.”

An ambitious goal, and he’s got some serious competition. Dozens of other 2-D chat firms already exist, and the Palace (https://www.thepalace.com) and World Chat (https://www.worlds.net) have dominated the business for about two years.

Then there’s the emerging arena of “virtual reality” chat, during which avatars mingle and talk in computer-generated three-dimensional environments.

U&I; Interactive plans to offer real-time audio and video in its online realm by the end of this year. And the company is talking with the record and film industry about creating themed environments for entertainers, Cortright said.

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.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com