Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy Honcho Craig Mundie spoke at the MIT Emerging Technology Conference and prophetized up a techno-storm. Evidently he sees technology taking us toward a world where virtual presences inhabit a 3D space and use that as a base to interact with the rest of us. Sound crazy? Maybe, but Microsoft is already planning to give it a go at its headquarters by installing a virtual receptionist.

When/if the virtual receptionist rolls out in the next few months, it'll present itself as a friendly avatar and be able to differentiate between individuals based on their appearance and clothing. It uses a combination of microphones and language processors to pick up what's being said, and can perform simple tasks for Microsoft employees, such as scheduling shuttle rides between the HQ's various buildings.

Turns out it's quite the resource hog at the moment, as it eats up 40% even when idling. In a video presentation by Microsoft, it also seems to ask you to repeat yourself a lot. Still, it's pretty neat, and we'll definitely be keeping an eye out for any further uprisings developments.

Click Continue to see said video of the system in action.

CNET, via Botropolis