Saturday, December 06, 2003

Japan is creating a computer-generated goodwill ambassador
- called Sakura Sanae !!! Link below
Geek.com Geek News - Japan creates a computer-generated goodwill ambassador
Found the info on geek.com


Japan has decided to create a computer-generated goodwill ambassador. Japan named the program Sakura Sanae, and decided to give her the appearance of an attractive Japanese woman. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs apparently wanted to send goodwill ambassadors to many different countries at once. The name Sakura comes from the Japanese word for "cherry blossoms," and her last name comes from ASEAN. Japan's foreign ministry makes the rather odd statement that Sakura "is 21 years old, born in 2003 from a PC," and Sakura will probably make the rounds throughout Asia. She apparently has a large vocabulary in several languages, and she will never suffer from jetlag, culture shock, or poor personal hygiene. The Japanese Embassy in Vietnam has a downloadable animation of Sakura, who is shown walking on water. Sakura appears to be quite popular in Asia, and will proably soon inhabit many embassy websites. Given that diplomatic work is sometimes dangerous, Japan may soon decide to make extensive use of digital goodwill ambassadors.

A photo of her can be found here

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