• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, April 5, 2012

The world got its first peek at Google’s augmented-reality glasses, renewing questions about the practically, marketability, and stylishness of such a device. In a post shared via Google Plus, employees in the company laboratory known as Google X, including Babak Parviz, Steve Lee and Sebastian Thrun, asked people for input about the prototype of Project Glass. “Mr. Lee, a Google product manager and originally worked on Google mapping software Latitude, mobile maps and indoor maps, is responsible for the software component and the location-based aspects of the glasses,” reports The New York Times’ Bits blog.

According to Bits, “The prototype version Google showed off on Wednesday looked like a very polished and well-designed pair of wrap-around glasses with a clear display that sits above the eye.” The glasses can stream information to the lenses, which lets the wearer send and receive messages through voice commands, as well as record video and take pictures with a built-in camera.

Meanwhile, a video released by Google smartly showed potential uses for Project Glass, focusing more on personal connections and simplicity rather than what some consumers might perceive to be over-sharing, information overload, and privacy-threatening applications.