Virtual news jock Ananova goes live

By D. Ian Hopper
CNN Interactive Technology Editor

April 18, 2000
Web posted at: 5:05 p.m. EDT (2105 GMT)

ENGLAND (CNN) -- After tons of buzz surrounding the first real-time virtual newscaster, Ananova became available to the public Wednesday.

Created by the new media arm of the UK's Press Association, Ananova reads news, sports, weather and more, with a personality designed to rival flesh-and-blood anchors. Her TelePrompTer is the PA's news desk -- Britain's counterpart to The Associated Press -- and can be personalized with details such as the user's preferred news, favorite soccer team and more.

VIDEO Senior International Correspondent Richard Blystone looks at the computer generated newscaster Ananova. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     ALSO Ananova: A face for Web news     QUICKVOTE Would you want a virtual newscaster on your desktop? Yes No View Results     MESSAGE BOARD Internet society

Ananova, who looks like a cross between Posh Spice and Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, has also been designed with a personality. Her inflections, mood and facial animations change with the tone of each story. Her creators hope her personality will evolve even further.

Her first words were chosen by fans of the yet-to-be-released anchor. Citing Alexander Graham Bell's first words over the telephone, PA New Media solicited suggestions for Ananova's first utterance.

A friendly interface

PA New Media says it created Ananova to place a face on information.

"Down the line, lots of people will still be technophobes that don't want to interact with databases. We believe that we'll need to have nice interfaces for people, and this is where Ananova comes in," says Mark Hird, director of PA New Media.

"If you're downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast, you could have a device like Ananova that could tell you about news, traffic, or offer to read your e-mail. It would be like a human telling you what you need to know."

The personalization comes from a tool designed to return news and information, then feed the results to Ananova.

PA New Media has developed a specialized search engine that looks specifically at live information sites and is more dynamic than traditional engines. At first, only U.K. news and information will be available. But Hird says international versions will come soon, as well as regional versions in other languages.

The language issue was a major sticking point in the development of Ananova. At first, she had a "very English, very posh, authoritative" voice, Hird says. But focus groups complained that they felt they were being lectured to. Regional accents were equally unattractive, since they brought along regional stereotypes and prejudices. The result was "sort of a transatlantic accent, kind of otherworldly. They wanted to hear a computer voice, and any human voice was pigeonholed," Hird says.

Turn ons, turn offs

PA New Media has developed an extensive "back story" for Ananova. She's 28, 5 feet 8 inches tall, "quietly intelligent," and enjoys sports statistics, "The Simpsons," Mozart and the British rock band Oasis. It's certainly a lot of personality for an animated head -- although perhaps more, some might argue, than some real-life television newscasters.

Ananova's personality is evolving, Hird says. She's still reliant on programmers to give her personality, but since each news item comes tagged with XML language explaining the type of story it is, she is able to respond to the stories appropriately. Presumably, she won't chuckle playfully while relating a story about a plane crash.

At first Ananova will be exclusive to PA New Media's Web site, where she'll be streamed with RealPlayer. But soon after, Ananova will escape the PC and jump into mobile devices. Mobile device makers have been seeking some form of multimedia content for broadband, Hird says, and Ananova will be platform-neutral.

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