The Role of Semantics in Next-Generation Online Virtual World-Based Retail Store Geetika Sharma, C. Anantaram, and Hiranmay Ghosh Tata Consultancy Services, 249 D & E Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon -122015, Haryana, India geetika.s@tcs.com, c.anantaram@tcs.com, hiranmay.ghosh@tcs.com http://www.tcsinnovations.com Abstract. Online virtual environments are increasingly becoming popu- lar for entrepreneurship. While interactions are primarily between avatars, some interactions could occur through intelligent chatbots. Such interac- tions require connecting to backend business applications to obtain infor- mation, carry out real-world transactions etc. In this paper, we focus on integrating business application systems with virtual worlds. We discuss the probable features of a next-generation online virtual world-based re- tail store and the technologies involved in realizing the features of such a store. In particular, we examine the role of semantics in integrating popu- lar virtual worlds with business applications to provide natural language based interactions. Keywords: Virtual Environments, Natural Language Processing, Vi- sual Semantics. 1 Introduction Online web-based retail portals like eBay, Amazon etc., are rather popular for buying and selling used and new items. People shop online to ﬁnd discounts and savings, save time in comparing product speciﬁcations and prices, and the sheer convenience of shopping from their homes or oﬃces. However, online web-based shopping lacks the social aspect of shopping. A user of an online portal is usually shopping individually and without social interaction - a practice far removed from reality. It has been observed that although the majority of consumers still visit real-world malls to shop, they seem to acknowledge that malls serve other purposes than being just a shopping destination, such as watching a movie, shopping with a relative or friend, or attending events [5]. Market research has also shown that the Internet is not typically a place where consumers make impulsive purchases. Consumers utilize the web as a convenient, user-friendly means to browse shopping options, educate themselves on product choices and make informed purchase decisions. Online virtual worlds are set to change online shopping by providing the necessary social aspect to shopping. Friends and relatives distributed across the globe can go shopping together by logging into the world at the same time and F. Lehmann-Grube and J. Sablatnig (Eds.): FaVE 2009, LNICST 33, pp. 91–105, 2010. c  Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering 2010