Inspired by the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash and an interest in a more social virtual world, James McCrae has designed FireBox, a 3D web browser that uses Oculus Rift VR technology as a navigation tool. Unhappy with conforming to the 2D ‘page’ metaphor which has been web standard for the last decade or so, McCrae imagines his internet as a series of rooms, connected by doorways (links). Taking this analogy further, images embedded on webpages appear as pictures, hanging on walls.

Initially designed with the intent to help people learn to use the Oculus Rift, FireBox has taken on a life of its own as a result of its designer’s custom coding. The browser can read the content of ordinary HTML webpages and arrange the content in new ways for Rift viewers, although it can also be opened in Windows and Linux for those without a VR viewer. People with a basic knowledge of HTML can also create their own FireBoxRooms, enriching their webpages with 3D content. The ultimate goal is that the virtual world and its experiences will eventually be navigated by us together with others.

The unveiling of FireBox is a timely one, bearing in mind that Facebook has just this week acquired Oculus Rift for $2 Billion USD. With that kind of investment, it’s surely only a matter of time before the technology becomes common place, and the social implications of this seem, at this point, limitless.