Judging by Newton's Third Law of Motion the great English scientist really must have gazed into a crystal ball and seen the Japan of today. His famous law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every anonymous concrete apartment block and crisp white shirt locked in a navy blue suit in Japan, there is its creative opposite -- the burgeoning ranks of anime, manga and the like.
Japan's Splume Corp. is doing its bit for the reaction against the forces of drabness with its own online opus, "Splume," which was announced at a recent press conference. Touted as a "platform" rather than a game, "Splume" is a 3D environment where users around Japan can interact and communicate. The program is currently available for download in Beta form, with a full release penciled in for this summer.
Initially devised in 2000, "Splume" is envisioned by its creators as a virtual world where users can chat, explore and create at their leisure.