METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR COMPUTER-MEDIATED MULTI-MODAL ASYNCHRONOUS MEETINGS IN A VIRTUAL SPACE

A computer-supported collaborative work environment allows for computer-mediated, multi-modal, asynchronous meetings in a virtual space that enables, recording, reviewing and augmenting meetings that take place in the virtual environment. Meeting participants interact via avatars, i.e., graphical representations of the participants, in a place-based, multi-dimensional graphical environment. Meeting sessions are captured for future replay and augmentation in a multi-modal document. The system utilizes multiple "tracks" in the multi-modal document, such as text discussion, audio commands, graphics, and documents, which are combined into the multi-modal document to preserve a recording of the meeting for future participants. The multi-modal document of this meeting can then be replayed and augmented by future participants ad infinitum to create a single, synchronous meeting. Furthermore, using avatars enables a straightforward method for generating composite screens for multiple sessions, and alleviates privacy concerns of users.