This New York Times article explores the possibility that users are ready to embrace interfaces that let them directly control objects in a 3D space on their screen, blending 3D representations of content with physics software to produce visually stimulating experiences. A number of consumer offerings are now appearing that are designed to exploit immersive 3D environments to make viewing large numbers of web pages, videos, and pictures more efficient. The article features PicLens, a FireFox plugin that transforms the browser into a full-screen, 3D experience for viewing images on the web. With PicLens, arrays of photos are brought to life via a cinematic presentation that extends beyond the confines of the traditional browser window, using an interactive "3D Wall" allowing users to drag, click, and zoom their way around a wall of pictures (see screenshot).

A company not mentioned in the article is SpaceTime, which has just officially launched its SpaceTime 1.0 3D web browser. SpaceTime turns internet searches, YouTube videos, eBay listings and other web content into 3D elements that move around the screen (see YouTube demo). Another company called 3B offers a browser that allows users to take any collection of web sites or photos, and place them into a personalized 3D space called a 3B room (see screenshots). The question remains whether these tools truly make browsing more efficient, or are just eye-candy that will produce only a short-lived fit of interest before users return to their more familiar 2D point-and-click habits.