Virtual worlds seamless object drop integration
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a computer operative to receive user input and execute computer usable program code;
a network interface coupling the computer to a network;
at least one product image icon disposed in a seller web page operated by a party for display in a browser window of a browser client displayed on a user display screen of the computer, each product image icon representing a product that is offered for sale;
an image tag associated with each product image icon, the image tag including information related to a unique identifier;
a virtual world client providing for a virtual world window for a virtual world operated by a different party than the party operating the seller web page to be presented on the user display screen together with the browser window; and
a drag-and-drop application program separate from the virtual world client and from the browser client for interpreting a user action that drags product image icons from the browser window on to a virtual world client window as a request to obtain corresponding virtual or real products and for passing the respective image tags to an underlying operation system in communication with a virtual world network server over the network;
wherein, the virtual world network server receives the respective image tags and graphically renders the products they represent in the virtual world occupied by an avatar controlled by a buyer;
wherein the drag-and-drop application program permits the at least one product image icon disposed in the seller web page to be employed within the virtual world client where the virtual world is separate from the seller web page and the virtual world is operated by the different party than the party operating the seller web page.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Virtual worlds seamless object drop integration enables users to obtain products in a virtual world by dragging a product image icon off of an e-commerce web page and on to a virtual world client. The drag-and-drop movement is initiated by the user from a browser window on a display screen. The browser calls an underlying system service to pass an image tag corresponding to the product image icon on to the virtual world client. The image tag includes a unique identifier. The virtual world client checks the image tag to see if the corresponding product has a price, and asks the user if they want to buy it. A product purchase transaction is completed by a virtual world network server and a payments network server that is called in for the financial authorizations. The seller'"'"'s web page and payments network server are addressed by their respective Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
28 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a computer operative to receive user input and execute computer usable program code; a network interface coupling the computer to a network; at least one product image icon disposed in a seller web page operated by a party for display in a browser window of a browser client displayed on a user display screen of the computer, each product image icon representing a product that is offered for sale; an image tag associated with each product image icon, the image tag including information related to a unique identifier; a virtual world client providing for a virtual world window for a virtual world operated by a different party than the party operating the seller web page to be presented on the user display screen together with the browser window; and a drag-and-drop application program separate from the virtual world client and from the browser client for interpreting a user action that drags product image icons from the browser window on to a virtual world client window as a request to obtain corresponding virtual or real products and for passing the respective image tags to an underlying operation system in communication with a virtual world network server over the network; wherein, the virtual world network server receives the respective image tags and graphically renders the products they represent in the virtual world occupied by an avatar controlled by a buyer; wherein the drag-and-drop application program permits the at least one product image icon disposed in the seller web page to be employed within the virtual world client where the virtual world is separate from the seller web page and the virtual world is operated by the different party than the party operating the seller web page. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method comprising:
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displaying at least one product image icon in a seller web page operable by a party in a browser window of a browser client displayed on a user display screen of a computer, the at least one product image icon representing at least one of a virtual product and a real product that is offered for sale; associating an image tag with each product image icon including information related to a unique identifier; providing displaying a virtual world window for a virtual world operated by a different party than the party operating the seller web page on the user display screen together with the browser window by means of a virtual world client; and interpreting a user action performed on the computer with a drag-and-drop application program separate from the virtual world client and from the browser client that drags product image icons from the browser window on to a virtual world client window displayed on the user display screen as a request to obtain corresponding virtual or real products, and for passing the respective image tags to an underlying operation system in communication with a network and a virtual world network server; wherein, the virtual world network server receives the image tags and graphically render the products they represent in the virtual world occupied by an avatar controlled by a buyer; wherein the drag-and-drop application program permits the at least one product image icon displayed in the seller web page to be employed within the virtual world client where the virtual world is separate from the seller web page and the virtual world is operated by the different party than the party operating the seller web page. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer program product comprising:
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a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer usable program code, the computer usable program code comprising; computer usable program code configured to obtain products by dragging a product image icon off of an e-commerce web page and on to a virtual world client, the computer usable program code comprising; computer usable program code configured to display at least one product image icon in a seller web page operated by a party in a browser window of a browser client to represent a virtual or real product that is offered for sale to a buyer from a seller; computer usable program code configured to associate an image tag with each product image icon and include information related to a unique identifier; computer usable program code configured to use a virtual world client to provide a virtual world window for a virtual world operated by a different party than the party operating the seller web page on a user display screen together with the browser window; and computer usable program code configured to interpret a user action with a drag-and-drop application program separate from the virtual world client and from the browser client that drags product image icons from the browser window on to a virtual world client window as a request to obtain corresponding virtual or real products, and for passing the respective image tags to an underlying operation system in communication with a network and a virtual world network server; wherein, the virtual world network server receives the respective image tags and graphically renders the products they represent in the virtual world occupied by an avatar controlled by the buyer; wherein the drag-and-drop application program permits the at least one product image icon disposed in the seller web page to be employed within the virtual world client where the virtual world is separate from the seller web page and the virtual world is operated by the different party than the party operating the seller web page. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification