SHARED MULTI-USER INTERFACE FOR MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SYNTHETIC ENVIRONMENTS

The shared multi-user communication system allows a group of users to explore, navigate, manipulate and examine application data in a multi-dimensional synthetic environment. A shared user state and parameter table storing the attributes of the data being examined at each synthetic environment system within the group is stored locally at each synthetic environment system. A shared control table defines which parameters of the data locally examined are to be controlled by the local user and which attributes are to be controlled by a remote synthetic environment system. Thus, data may be examined at the local station fully independent from the examination of data at remote stations. Alternatively, the data examined at the local station may be partially or wholly synchronized to the examination of data at remote stations. An override table is further provided to enable data being examined at the local station to be maintained privately and not transmitted to the remote synthetic environment systems of the group. For security purposes, a group establishment protocol prevents a group from being established without every group member approving every member's membership in the group.