1. Architecture:- a building in the design stage can be viewed and walked through by the customer before it is actually built and the customer can give input to the architect well before a ton of money has been spent.
2. Travel:- imagine being able to visist somwhere on the internet and walking through a foreign aitport before you have actually been there. No more missed flights while you waste time finding your gate at the airport.
   Also, imagine visiting a street in Dubling Ireland before you are actually there. You can decide before you get there what historic sites you want to see and what sites you consider a "waste of time". This is possible already on the internet. Check out O'Connell Street in Dublin Ireland.
3. Education:- VRML is also already used by educators and manufacturers to teach people how o assemble items. These sites show people how a particular item, like a piece of furniture is assembled piece by piece. They show how to put the pieces together and it can be viewed from all angles so that you don't miss anything. If you do miss something, you can go back and watch it again.
4. The Art World:- also uses VRML to display works of Art in galleries. Imagine being able to view the Mona Lisa in the Louvre without even leaving your home. Galleries can be made in VRML that are replicas of the actual galleries and art works can be links to other sites or other HTML documents. You can walk through a gallery and enjoy the art work and visit interesting sites that are linked to the artwork to get more information about the art or the artist.

What do We Need to Start?

Now that we know what VRML is used for, what do we need to accomplish it?

1. Browser that supports VRML.
   To begin you will need to det a browser that supports VRML 2.0. The easiest thing to do is use Netscape 3.X or higher because it comes with LIVE 3D built in. If this isn't the route you wnat to take then you need to download a plug-in. Some examples of the most common VRML browsers available are:
   1. CosmoPlayer 2.0 by Silicon Graphics Inc. This is a Netscape and Internet Explorer 4.0 compatible plug-in and is good for VRML 2.0. It is also free to download from Silicon Graphics.
   2. LIVE 3D by Netscape.
   3. Virtus Voyager by Virtus Corporation which is a stan alone product.
   4. WorldView by InterVista. This is a compatible plug-in for Netscape and Internet Explorer as well. It also supports DirectX.
   These are the four most used plug-ins and can be downloaded or purchased from the various company sites. Most VRML pages you come across also have links to one or two of these sites.
2. 3D graphics knowledge is a plus but not essential for VRML.
3. A good book on VRML 2.0. VRMLsite.com has a list of good books. Many other sites also list some books or articles that can help.
4. Patience. As with learning anything new a great deal of patience always helps. Be forwarned that because this is relatively new most of the browsers still have some bugs in them and have a tendancy to crash on a fairly regular basis. Even though this happens, VRML sites are very interesting and can be very useful so be patient and enjoy the fun!