Seonaid, a virtual woman who was developed by DA Group for the young people's section of the Scottish Executive's Web site, is that character who will deliver the news to those testing the mobile information service. The name Seonaid stands for Scottish Executive Online News and Information Distributor
Talking and moving like a real person, the Scottish Executive thought Seonaid would generate interest among the younger population in the executive and its work. However, once launched she proved popular among adults as well.
To capitalise on Seonaid's success the Scottish Executive want to introduce her to the mobile medium, where she can introduce news with video clips on mobile handsets.
"This [project] is very important to the Scottish Executive, and is important in modernising government," said Jeff Markz, project leader at DA Group, adding that the Scottish Executive was the only government offering rich media messaging content. "Seonaid has become the face of Scottish Executive news," he said, "and has become a powerful icon to present news to the Scottish people."
This mobile project is only a trial at the moment. During this phase the executive will see if Seonaid's trip to mobile phones is feasible or not, finding out how long the public like their messages to be, whether or not they actually want video messages, if they just want text messages and the affect of the avatar.
People interested in testing the new service can sign up through the Scottish Executive Web site. Participants will be sent messages over a period of six to eight weeks, and overall the research is expected to take approximately three months.
The trial process will be free but no decision has been on pricing for the future, though DA has said that its avatar technology facilitates the creation and delivery of a video information message at a much lower cost to the executive than if they were to employ a human reporter.
If the news service, as the Scottish Executive currently envisions it, is rolled out, it will be accessible to 3G mobile handset users and people with new colour mobile phones. Markz said that the multi-media news messages will be available across all mobile networks. He is optimistic about the news service, as DA Group believes that this Christmas will be the Christmas of colour mobiles.
The DA Group's own service, Stereotypes, is currently being tested by developers. Similar to how consumers can download ring tones on their phone, this services aims to give consumers a menu of characters to speak what would otherwise be a text message. For example, if a man is asking a woman out for a drink, he might select James Bond to relay his message. He can also choose the body language of the character, for example if he types in "flirty" the character will wink at the person who is receiving the message, Markz explains. DA Group expects Stereotypes to be available to end users in the next few months.
Quelle: electricnews.net
