Virtual marketplace accessible to widgetized avatars

Abstract

A system for performing online commerce within a virtual marketplace is disclosed. The system includes computer programming resident on at least one networked server, wherein the computer programming provides an online marketplace having at least one virtual storefront. A user access to the online marketplace includes a user-directed, computer programmable avatar, and further includes a computing device communicatively connected to the at least one networked server. An operator of the at least one virtual storefront provides an auction transaction for at least one item with the user directed avatar.

1 . A virtual marketplace for conducting online commerce, comprising:
 an online marketplace comprising at least one virtual storefront accessible to a programmable avatar, and that makes items available for the online commerce; and   an avatar representative of a user, and for which a transaction involving the items in the online commerce is executed, comprising:
 first computing code that provides for addition of the avatar as non-static content to at least two unique at least partially static web pages, wherein the at least one online virtual storefront comprises at least a first of the at least two at least partially static webpages; and 
 second computing code that provides for association of the first computing code with ones of said online marketplace. 
   
     
     
         2 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein ones of the items comprise at least one virtualized article of real world clothing. 
     
     
         3 . The marketplace of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one article of real world clothing comprises a designer line of clothing. 
     
     
         4 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the first computing code comprises uncompiled computing code. 
     
     
         5 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein a display of the first computing code comprises an approximate physical representation of the user. 
     
     
         6 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein a display of the first computing code is two dimensional. 
     
     
         7 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein a display of the first computing code is three dimensional. 
     
     
         8 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the first computing code comprises personal information, including at least one of a user name, a user screen name, a purchase tool, a handle, a trademark and a text of interest. 
     
     
         9 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the at least two unique at least partially static web pages comprise HTML code. 
     
     
         10 . The marketplace I of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first computing code and said second computing code are embeddable by the user. 
     
     
         11 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein a display of the first computing code includes at least facial features and hair. 
     
     
         12 . The marketplace of  claim 8 , wherein the personal information includes musical tastes, motion picture tastes, job status, educational status, age, location, income, marital status, and online communities with which the user is associated. 
     
     
         13 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein a display of the first computing code comprises a trading card format. 
     
     
         14 . The marketplace of  claim 13 , wherein the trading card format flips responsive to at least one of selection of a drop-down menu, selection of a link, and a double click. 
     
     
         15 . The marketplace of  claim 13 , wherein a flipped side of the trading card includes age, interests, likes, dislikes, and employment status. 
     
     
         16 . The marketplace of  claim 8 , wherein the personal information comprises an indication of an expertise level. 
     
     
         17 . The marketplace of  claim 16 , wherein the expertise level is transferrable in conjunction with the first computing code. 
     
     
         18 . The marketplace of  claim 16 , wherein the expertise level is in accordance with feedback from other ones of the user in the at least one computing communities. 
     
     
         19 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one virtual storefront is a point-of-sale store. 
     
     
         20 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one virtual storefront is an auction site for auctioning the items. 
     
     
         21 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one virtual storefront is an indirect merchant retailer. 
     
     
         22 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the items are new. 
     
     
         23 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein the items are used. 
     
     
         24 . The marketplace of  claim 1 , wherein items are traded at the at least one virtual storefront. 
     
     
         25 . A system for performing online commerce within a virtual marketplace, comprising:
 computer programming resident on at least one networked server, wherein the computer programming provides an online marketplace having at least one virtual storefront;   a user access to the online marketplace comprising a user-directed, computer programmable avatar, and comprising a computing device communicatively connected to the at least one networked server; and   wherein an operator of the at least one virtual storefront provides an auction transaction for at least one item with the user directed avatar.