<s>
In	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
,	O
an	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agent	I-General_Concept
,	O
also	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
an	O
interface	B-Application
agent	I-Application
,	O
is	O
an	O
intelligent	B-General_Concept
agent	I-General_Concept
that	O
interacts	O
with	O
the	O
environment	O
through	O
a	O
physical	O
body	O
within	O
that	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agents	O
that	O
are	O
represented	O
graphically	O
with	O
a	O
body	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
a	O
human	O
or	O
a	O
cartoon	O
animal	O
,	O
are	O
also	O
called	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
,	O
although	O
they	O
have	O
only	O
virtual	O
,	O
not	O
physical	O
,	O
embodiment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
branch	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
focuses	O
on	O
empowering	O
such	O
agents	O
to	O
interact	O
autonomously	O
with	O
human	O
beings	O
and	O
the	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mobile	O
robots	O
are	O
one	O
example	O
of	O
physically	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
;	O
Ananova	O
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Agent	I-Application
are	O
examples	O
of	O
graphically	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Embodied	B-General_Concept
conversational	I-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
are	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
(	O
usually	O
with	O
a	O
graphical	O
front-end	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
a	O
robotic	O
body	O
)	O
that	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
engaging	O
in	O
conversation	O
with	O
one	O
another	O
and	O
with	O
humans	O
employing	O
the	O
same	O
verbal	O
and	O
nonverbal	O
means	O
that	O
humans	O
do	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
gesture	O
,	O
facial	O
expression	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
forth	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Embodied	B-General_Concept
conversational	I-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
are	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
intelligent	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Graphically	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
aim	O
to	O
unite	O
gesture	O
,	O
facial	O
expression	O
and	O
speech	O
to	O
enable	O
face-to-face	O
communication	O
with	O
users	O
,	O
providing	O
a	O
powerful	O
means	O
of	O
human-computer	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
as	O
this	O
,	O
the	O
face-to-face	O
communication	O
involved	O
in	O
interacting	O
with	O
an	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agent	I-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
conducted	O
alongside	O
another	O
task	O
without	O
distracting	O
the	O
human	O
participants	O
,	O
instead	O
improving	O
the	O
enjoyment	O
of	O
such	O
an	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
also	O
provide	O
a	O
social	O
dimension	O
to	O
the	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Humans	O
willingly	O
ascribe	O
social	O
awareness	O
to	O
computers	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
interaction	O
with	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
follows	O
social	O
conventions	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
human	O
to	O
human	O
interactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rickenberg	O
and	O
Reeves	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
an	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agent	I-General_Concept
on	O
a	O
website	O
increased	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
user	O
trust	O
in	O
that	O
website	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
increased	O
users	O
 '	O
anxiety	O
and	O
affected	O
their	O
performance	O
,	O
as	O
if	O
they	O
were	O
being	O
watched	O
by	O
a	O
real	O
human	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
effect	O
of	O
the	O
social	O
aspect	O
of	O
agents	O
is	O
that	O
presentations	O
given	O
by	O
an	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agent	I-General_Concept
are	O
perceived	O
as	O
being	O
more	O
entertaining	O
and	O
less	O
difficult	O
than	O
similar	O
presentations	O
given	O
without	O
an	O
agent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
shows	O
that	O
perceived	O
enjoyment	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
perceived	O
usefulness	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
major	O
factor	O
influencing	O
user	O
adoption	O
of	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rich	O
style	O
of	O
communication	O
that	O
characterises	O
human	O
conversation	O
makes	O
conversational	O
interaction	O
with	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
conversational	I-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
ideal	O
for	O
many	O
non-traditional	O
interaction	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
familiar	O
application	O
of	O
graphically	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
is	O
computer	O
games	O
;	O
embodied	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
are	O
ideal	O
for	O
this	O
setting	O
because	O
the	O
richer	O
communication	O
style	O
makes	O
interacting	O
with	O
the	O
agent	O
enjoyable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Embodied	B-General_Concept
conversational	I-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
have	O
also	O
been	O
used	O
in	O
virtual	O
training	O
environments	O
,	O
portable	O
personal	O
navigation	O
guides	O
,	O
interactive	O
fiction	O
and	O
storytelling	O
systems	O
,	O
interactive	B-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
characters	I-Protocol
and	O
automated	O
presenters	O
and	O
commentators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
U.S.	O
Department	O
of	O
Defense	O
utilizes	O
a	O
software	B-General_Concept
agent	I-General_Concept
called	O
SGT	O
STAR	O
on	O
U.S.	O
Army-run	O
Web	O
sites	O
and	O
Web	B-Application
applications	I-Application
for	O
site	O
navigation	O
,	O
recruitment	O
and	O
propaganda	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Star	O
is	O
based	O
upon	O
the	O
ActiveSentry	O
technology	O
developed	O
by	O
Next	O
IT	O
,	O
a	O
Washington-based	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
services	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
such	O
bots	B-Protocol
in	O
the	O
Sgt	O
.	O
</s>
