There has been gossip in City of London parlours that Hewlett-Packard Co is so enthusiastic about the prospect for virtual reality that it may be about to buy a stake in Division Group Plc of Bristol (CI No 2,808), and while not saying anything about Division, it has made its keenness for all things virtual manifest by joining the Virtual Worlds Consortium, formed to promote and foster virtual reality technology. Hewlett will work with other members to help them create real-world virtual reality applications. The Virtual Worlds Consortium was organised in 1990 and is managed by the Human Interface Technology Laboratory of the University of Washington in Seattle, a hot-bed of virtual reality research (CI No 1,462). Members include Division Group Plc, Microsoft Corp, Philips Research Laboratories, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, US West Inc, Hughes Aircraft Co, American Express Co, Boeing Co, the US Air Force and US Navy.
