Patent reveals plans for virtual, 3-D Apple store

Instead of just clicking around pages and pages of products, you'd slip on an avatar and roam the virtual aisles, "Second Life"-style. Exciting stuff...or at least it was back in 2006, when the patent was originally filed.

Discovered by MacNN, the just-published patent details a 3-D virtual store with aisles for "electronics," "books," "movies," and "music," along with avatars for shoppers and clerks, and dynamic lighting depending on the time of day ("sunny" during daylights hours, with stars and the moon appearing at night).

As a shopper in the 3-D Apple store, you'd be able to pick a badge for your icon depending on your experience ("N" for newbie, "E" for expert, and so on), while the virtual clerks would have nametags telling you their area of expertise ("Ask me about jazz music," "ask me about photo software," etc.), according to MacNN. And you might even hear "varying degrees of din" depending on how many other shoppers are nearby. Sorry, no flying (at least as far as I can tell).

Interesting...and indeed, it's pretty much what I assume we'll be getting once the "Second Life"-style PlayStation Home launches later this year. I'm also guessing that chatting up your fellow customers ("So…come here often?") would be part of the draw.

But first, let's keep in mind that the Apple patent was filed back in September 2006, when the "Second Life" craze was just gathering steam. Nowadays, "Second Life" and its ilk are looking pretty tired—and besides, the patent doesn't mean that Apple will actually follow through with the plans.

Still, if anyone were to get the 3-D shopping experience right, it would be Apple (and judging from its continually packed stores here in New York, Apple has the physical experience nailed). That said, Apple (or any company that tries "Second Life"-style shopping) would be foolish to entirely do away with traditional, Amazon-style shopping and search boxes, especially for those shoppers who already know exactly what they want.

So, what do you think—eager to browse the Apple store aisles, 3-D style? Or would you rather shop online the old-fashioned way?

Related:

Will Apple open a store in Second Life? [MacNN]