Web-based virtual reality catalog in electronic commerce

With the advent of information technology, a lot of research has been done on electronic catalogs for electronic commerce compared with traditional paper based catalogs. The Web based digital catalogs provide more complete information with efficient information updating, and can be constructed more economically for the limited attribute of products only. In the last decade, customers were involved in defining the size, style, color, need, and other attributes of products. In order to fit the current catalogs to customized products, manufacturers can try the approach of incorporating the features of electronic commerce with the concept of mass customization. We propose a Web based approach to an electronic catalog for the mass customization of products. The discussion concentrates on using Web technology and virtual reality to design and develop a framework on the prototype system. Implementation issues and examples are given for the Web based electronic commerce of an electronic/virtual pet.