Google trying anew for a 3D Web

From CNET News.com: Two related projects from Mozilla and Google, each with the similar goal of bringing hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the Web, appear to be joining forces after a change in Google tactics.

The two projects emerged at nearly the same time in 2009: the O3D browser plug-in from Google and the proposed WebGL standard from Mozilla and the Khronos Group, which standardizes the OpenGL graphics interface on which WebGL is based. O3D is a higher-level technology, whereas WebGL is more concerned with the nuts and bolts of 3D graphics.

In recent months, though, O3D has become dormant. But it's not fading away, exactly: Google is trying to breathe new life into the project by rebuilding it on a WebGL foundation.

What are the implications? For Mozilla and Google, it means more cooperation rather than competition for attention for the projects. By working together rather than in isolation, each project reinforces the other.

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