West Palm Beach, Fla., Entertainment Firm to Debut New `3-D' Attraction.

Publication: The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Miami Herald

Byline: Beatrice E. Garcia

Mar. 17--If anything can rev up entertainment, commerce, gaming and education online, it's 3-D, a small West Palm Beach company is betting.

JesterDigital is developing interactive 3-D applications that can be used to enhance a variety of experiences on the Web, says John Textor, one of the company's founders who serves as chairman and CEO.

The company's website allows users to check out three-dimensional replicas of Metallica's secret recording studio in London; a skateboard park, complete with ramps, half-pipes and banked walls; or the Pyramids of Giza.

While the site creates a community around alternative cultures and extreme sports, Jester is aiming to be much more than an online chat room with fancy gimmicks. The company aims to make money by selling its applications to music, entertainment, gaming and e-commerce companies.

Textor is guiding Jester around his theory that entertainment and technology are continuing to merge.

"The user experience is the battleground for the customer," Textor says. "The first prize will be a much richer experience, far different than what you see now at Yahoo or Amazon."

Its first two customers are Walt Disney and...

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