• by Tameka Kee , September 4, 2008

There.com, in its quest for a bigger piece of the virtual world user (and potential advertiser) pie, rolled out a number of enhancements at the Virtual Worlds Expo on Wednesday.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based world, a division of Makena Technologies, launched a Facebook app and a lightweight, IM-based version of its platform. Meanwhile, Apple-lovers will soon be able to explore There.com, as the company is set to release a Mac-friendly version of the software.

Mac users have been unable to experience the 3D virtual world since its inception five years ago due to difficulties in integrating with Apple's operating system. "Back in 2003, the whole Mac platform was undergoing redefinition," said Michael Wilson, Makena Technologies' CEO. "Now that they're running on Intel and they have OSX, it's much more accessible for a smaller company."

Wilson also said that the surge in user adoption of Macs made it the right time to develop an OSX-based version of There.com. "Macs are exceeding PCs when it comes to laptop purchases by some accounts, and there's such a huge percentage of users that it actually makes business sense." He said that the company had received quite a bit of feedback from creative and advertising professionals that used Macs and wanted access to the world. "It was one of the most popular complaints," Wilson said.

Making There.com more accessible to the advertising community is a no-brainer, as it could entice more skeptical types to test the world's viability as a marketing channel. But the company has had no scarcity of advertising partners, as apparel brands like Bebe and K-SWISS recently joined the list of many real-world companies that have tapped into the virtual world's user base.

Wilson said that the upgrades are part of the company's push to be part of There.com members' lives wherever they are. "People are finding more ways to connect to their communities," he said. "And we want to allow them to access their avatar, their conversations and even some of their virtual possessions without having to be in the world."

The Facebook application for example, allows members to access in-world auctions directly from the social network, in addition to posting their avatar profiles and upcoming events. ThereIM, the instant messaging tool, lets members communicate with their friends whether they're inside the world or not, and they can also change their avatar's appearance, shop and teleport into the world if they choose.