SOLITARY soccer fans may appreciate Matthew Weldon鈥檚 latest brainwave during the World Cup. He is developing a way for friends to see and hear each other鈥檚 reactions to a game no matter where they are. All you need is a PC near your TV.
Each user of Weldon鈥檚 planned ShoutOuts website would upload an image to represent their alter ego: a gorilla, perhaps, or maybe Swamp Thing. Friends could form a group, and as each logs on their image would be displayed on the computer screens of other members. The PC鈥檚 microphone would relay their cheering or booing to the rest of the group, and their noise level would control the size of their image: the louder you shout, the larger Swamp Thing gets. This way, says Weldon, of Indiana University in Bloomington, users will share their fellows鈥� joy 鈥� or despair.
