Passage 4 London Shopping Too Stressful? Try Virtual Oxford Street 109
伦敦西区 《时代周刊》

[00:00]London's West End is one of the world's great shopping districts. Its two main arteries,
[00:10]Regent and Oxford streets, and its capillary-like maze of side streets,
[00:18]are crammed with some of the biggest and trendiest names in retailing.
[00:25]But shopping in the West End can be downright exhausting:
[00:31]sidewalks heaving with humanity; the constant din of noise; traffic fumes; foul weather.
[00:42]That's why the creators behind Near London are betting
[00:47]that they can coax crowd-weary bargain hunters into the district via virtual reality.
[00:56]Near London is a 3D cyber-version of the West End that its developers say is the most realistic
[01:07]and accurate virtual recreation of a city center ever produced. Launched Nov. 30,
[01:17]it is indeed impressive-looking, thanks to a laser-scanning technology
[01:24]that picks up details down to one fifth of an inch and faithfully depicts every brick
[01:34]and slab of concrete. Once users download the software, they can stroll -
[01:42]or teleport - themselves around the district to one store after another,
[01:49]no matter where in the world they really are.
[01:54]Most of the West End's major retailers have signed on, including department stores
[02:02]Marks and Spencer and Liberty, as well as chains like Jaeger,
[02:09]French Connection and American Apparel.
[02:14]See something in a store window that you like the look of, say a red cashmere sweater?
[02:21]Click on it, and if the retailer is a Near London client,
[02:27]you'll open the appropriate page on that store's website.
[02:33]If you click on a retailer that's not part of Near, you'll open up that shop's generic website.
[02:43]Either way, you've got the opportunity to make a purchase. "For us,
[02:51]it's an opportunity to reach a new, slightly younger customer base,
[02:57]" says Melissa Neill, Jaeger's e-commerce marketing executive.
[03:04]It may also face some competition.
[03:08]Popular virtual world Second Life has let gamers visit reproductions of parts of London
[03:17]for several years. And German cyber-tourism site Twinty,
[03:23]which lets people visit a virtual Berlin and Singapore, is also preparing a London launch.
[03:32]But, unlike Near London, shopping isn't the prime focus of those sites.
[03:40]Instead they're about setting up a cyber-life for your virtual alter ego,
[03:48]or avatar, complete with its own apartment and wardrobe.
[03:54]Near London shuns humanoid avatars; visitors are instead represented
[04:01]by a colored shaft of light. You can also access Near London through Facebook,
[04:09]which means friends can browse and shop together in real time.