SELECTING A LANGUAGE ENCODING OF A STATIC COMMUNICATION IN A VIRTUAL UNIVERSE

• US 20090210213A1
• Filed: 02/15/2008
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McVey, Susan S., Jones, Angela Richards, Lyle, Ruthie D., Cannon, Ulysses Lamont
• Granted Patent: US 9,110,890 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/2
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]

Abstract

A static communication can be presented efficiently in different languages to facilitate propagation of the static communication across language boundaries. A static communication object that represents a static communication can be loaded with different language encodings of the static communication. When a trigger occurs (e.g., an avatar accesses the static communication object), a language encoding of the static communication that can be understood by the avatar is presented to the avatar. As the static communication propagates throughout the virtual universe, additional language encodings can be added to the static communication object.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a language encoding selection trigger for a static communication object with respect to an avatar in a virtual universe, wherein the static communication object comprises a plurality of encodings of a static communication in a plurality of languages;

determining a first language indicated for the avatar;

determining if the plurality of languages includes the first language; and

presenting a first of the plurality of encodings of the static communication in the first language if the plurality of languages includes the first language.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a second language indicated for the avatar;

determining if the plurality of languages includes the second language; and

presenting a second encoding of the plurality of encodings of the static communication in the second language if the plurality of languages includes the second language and do not include the first language.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the static communication object literally comprises the plurality of encodings.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the static communication object referentially comprises the plurality of encodings.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

requesting a translation of the static communication into the first language if the plurality of languages do not include the first language.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

receiving an encoding of the translation of the static communication into the first language; and

modifying the static communication object to also comprise the encoding of the translation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the language encoding selection trigger comprises at least one of the avatar acquiring the static communication object, the avatar accessing the static communication object, and the avatar entering a viewing area for the static communication object.

8. A method comprising:

detecting a language encoding selection trigger for a static communication object with respect to an avatar in a virtual universe, wherein the static communication object comprises a plurality of encodings of a static communication in a plurality of languages;

determining a first language indicated for the avatar;

determining if the plurality of languages includes the first language; and

modifying the static communication object to indicate a first of the plurality of encodings for presentation to the avatar if the plurality of languages includes the first language, wherein the first encoding of the static communication is in the first language.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising presenting the first encoding of the static communication to the avatar.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the static communication object represents at least one of a document, a note card, a billboard, a t-shirt, a novel, and a predefined speech.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said modifying comprises setting a flag, updating a pointer, and indicating priority values for at least some of the plurality of encodings.

12. One or more machine-readable media having encoded therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a set of one or more processor units, causes the set of one or more processor units to perform operations that comprise:

detecting a language encoding selection trigger for a static communication object with respect to an avatar in a virtual universe, wherein the static communication object comprises a plurality of encodings of a static communication in a plurality of languages;

determining a first language indicated for the avatar;

determining if the plurality of languages includes the first language; and

presenting a first of the plurality of encodings of the static communication in the first language if the plurality of languages includes the first language.

13. The machine-readable media of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a second language indicated for the avatar;

determining if the plurality of languages includes the second language; and

presenting a second encoding of the plurality of encodings of the static communication in the second language if the plurality of languages includes the second language and do not include the first language.

14. The machine-readable media of claim 12, wherein the static communication object literally comprises the plurality of encodings

15. The machine-readable media of claim 12, wherein the static communication object referentially comprises the plurality of encodings.

16. The machine-readable media of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

requesting a translation of the static communication into the first language if the plurality of languages do not include the first language.

17. The machine-readable media of claim 12, wherein the language encoding selection trigger comprises at least one of the avatar acquiring the static communication object, the avatar accessing the static communication object, and the avatar entering a viewing area for the static communication object.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a set of one or more processor units;

a set of one or more network interfaces operable to transmit and receive data for a virtual universe; and

a static communication language encoding selector operable to,

detect a language encoding selection trigger for a static communication object with respect to an avatar in the virtual universe, wherein the static communication object comprises a plurality of encodings of a static communication in a plurality of languages;

determine a first language indicated for the avatar;

determine if the plurality of languages includes the first language; and

present a first of the plurality of encodings of the static communication in the first language if the plurality of languages includes the first language.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the static communication language encoding selector is further operable to request a translation of the static communication into the first language if the plurality of languages do not include the first language.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the static communication language encoding selector is further operable to,

detect a language encoding selection trigger for a static communication object with respect to an avatar in a virtual universe, wherein the static communication object comprises a plurality of encodings of a static communication in a plurality of languages;

determine a first language indicated for the avatar;

determine if the plurality of languages includes the first language; and

present a first of the plurality of encodings of the static communication in the first language if the plurality of languages includes the first language.