<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
an	O
intelligent	B-Protocol
personal	I-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
under	O
development	O
by	O
Motorola	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
intended	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
an	O
internet	O
service	O
Motorola	O
was	O
developing	O
called	O
Myosphere	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
was	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
paid	O
service	O
that	O
would	O
eventually	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
other	O
mobile	O
carriers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
female	O
computer-generated	O
character	O
was	O
created	O
to	O
represent	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
in	O
advertising	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
was	O
never	O
officially	O
released	O
nor	O
cancelled	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
trademarks	O
for	O
both	O
Myosphere	B-General_Concept
and	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
were	O
abandoned	O
by	O
Motorola	O
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
believed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
play	O
on	O
the	O
words	O
'	O
My	O
assistant	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Internet	O
service	O
that	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
developed	O
for	O
was	O
called	O
Myosphere	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motorola	O
began	O
development	O
of	O
Myosphere	B-General_Concept
in	O
1998	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
speech	O
enabled	O
service	O
"	O
which	O
enables	O
consumers	O
to	O
manage	O
and	O
control	O
wireless	O
and	O
wireline	O
communications	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
point	O
of	O
access	O
using	O
natural	O
voice	O
commands.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
other	O
companies	O
had	O
already	O
announced	O
plans	O
for	O
similar	O
software	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
;	O
Alan	O
Reiter	O
from	O
Wireless	O
Internet	O
and	O
Mobile	O
Computing	O
was	O
puzzled	O
at	O
Motorola	O
's	O
announcement	O
of	O
Myosphere	B-General_Concept
,	O
saying	O
"	O
They	O
're	O
kind	O
of	O
late	O
to	O
the	O
[	O
voice	O
activation ]	O
party	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
myosphere	B-General_Concept
was	O
"	O
a	O
play	O
on	O
the	O
theme	O
of	O
connecting	O
the	O
elements	O
of	O
an	O
individual	O
's	O
world	O
,	O
or	O
sphere.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Intended	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
human-like	O
interface	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
to	O
be	O
accessed	O
via	O
a	O
toll-free	O
telephone	O
number	O
and	O
a	O
pin	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
any	O
phone	O
,	O
including	O
landlines	B-Application
,	O
but	O
primarily	O
for	O
mobiles	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
accessible	O
24	O
hours	O
a	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
answer	O
questions	O
on	O
topics	O
such	O
as	O
stock	O
prices	O
,	O
news	O
,	O
sports	O
,	O
weather	O
conditions	O
,	O
traffic	O
,	O
airline	O
reservations	O
,	O
addresses	O
,	O
and	O
appointments	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
call	O
contacts	O
in	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
's	O
address	O
book	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
paid	O
service	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
ready	O
by	O
December	O
2000	O
,	O
Motorola	O
hoped	O
that	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
would	O
also	O
eventually	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
Palm	B-Device
Pilot	I-Device
and	O
by	O
other	O
mobile	O
carriers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2000	O
Motorola	O
was	O
reported	O
to	O
be	O
planning	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
Nuance	O
Communications	O
to	O
internationalize	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
that	O
same	O
month	O
BellSouth	O
was	O
declared	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
carrier	O
to	O
buy	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
an	O
article	O
in	O
Popular	O
Science	O
in	O
August	O
2000	O
,	O
Motorola	O
was	O
spending	O
"	O
millions	O
of	O
dollars	O
"	O
on	O
both	O
the	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
character	O
and	O
the	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
originally	O
programmed	O
only	O
for	O
English	O
,	O
though	O
by	O
April	O
2001	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
being	O
developed	O
in	O
six	O
languages	O
,	O
and	O
additionally	O
Nippon	O
Telegraph	O
and	O
Telephone	O
were	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
working	O
with	O
Motorola	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
Japanese	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
voiced	O
by	O
actress	O
Gabrielle	O
Carteris	O
,	O
and	O
mechanically	O
altered	O
to	O
sound	O
more	O
digital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
create	O
a	O
commercial	O
for	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
,	O
Motorola	O
hired	O
the	O
McCann	O
Erickson	O
company	O
,	O
who	O
in	O
turn	O
hired	O
Digital	O
Domain	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
character	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
physical	O
representation	O
:	O
a	O
tall	O
,	O
thin	O
,	O
blonde	O
,	O
blue-eyed	O
white	O
female	O
,	O
was	O
created	O
in	O
the	O
likeness	O
of	O
a	O
human	O
model	O
,	O
Michelle	O
Holgate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
inspiration	O
for	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
came	O
from	O
vintage	O
pin-up	O
girls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
representation	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
had	O
a	O
very	O
small	O
waist	O
and	O
large	O
breasts	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
said	O
to	O
resemble	O
Jessica	O
Rabbit	O
,	O
which	O
did	O
not	O
impress	O
either	O
Motorola	O
or	O
McCann	O
Erickson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motorola	O
asked	O
Digital	O
Domain	O
to	O
make	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
look	O
as	O
human	O
as	O
possible	O
yet	O
still	O
be	O
obviously	O
artificial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
completed	O
iteration	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
so	O
realistic	O
that	O
Motorola	O
asked	O
for	O
her	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
more	O
obviously	O
digital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Viewers	O
were	O
reportedly	O
not	O
impressed	O
with	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
because	O
they	O
thought	O
she	O
was	O
a	O
real	O
person	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
Domain	O
visual	O
effects	O
supervisor	O
and	O
animation	O
director	O
,	O
Fred	O
Raimondi	O
,	O
decided	O
to	O
remodel	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
appearance	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
just	O
to	O
the	O
left	O
of	O
real	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
hair	O
was	O
changed	O
from	O
brunette	O
to	O
bleach	O
blonde	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Digital	O
Domain	O
,	O
giving	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
hair	O
that	O
was	O
longer	O
than	O
ear-length	O
was	O
not	O
possible	O
in	O
the	O
time	O
they	O
had	O
been	O
given	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
difficulties	O
of	O
creating	O
digital	O
photorealistic	O
hair	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
final	O
body	O
shape	O
was	O
an	O
almost	O
exact	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
model	O
's	O
measurements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
typically	O
seen	O
wearing	O
a	O
silver	O
pantsuit	O
but	O
also	O
appeared	O
in	O
halter	O
tops	O
in	O
some	O
shots	O
and	O
dressed	O
in	O
an	O
evening	O
gown	O
for	O
her	O
debut	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Digital	O
Domain	O
staff	O
wanted	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
to	O
appear	O
in	O
a	O
knee-length	O
skirt	O
with	O
high	O
boots	O
,	O
Motorola	O
and	O
McCann	O
chose	O
the	O
pantsuit	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
contemporary	O
look	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
Domain	O
chose	O
not	O
to	O
use	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
for	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
movements	O
as	O
they	O
believed	O
it	O
would	O
constrain	O
the	O
character	O
too	O
much	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
evening	O
gown	O
Motorola	O
selected	O
for	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
to	O
debut	O
in	O
was	O
described	O
by	O
Digital	O
Domain	O
as	O
the	O
most	O
difficult	O
item	O
of	O
clothing	O
they	O
could	O
have	O
chosen	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
transparency	O
and	O
layering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
render	O
150	O
frames	O
(	O
equating	O
to	O
5	O
–	O
6	O
seconds	O
of	O
actual	O
footage	O
)	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
moving	O
in	O
the	O
gown	O
in	O
low-resolution	O
required	O
approximately	O
6	O
hours	O
of	O
processing	O
time	O
;	O
the	O
final	O
high-resolution	O
shots	O
took	O
longer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
rendering	O
was	O
so	O
complex	O
she	O
crashed	B-General_Concept
the	O
computers	O
at	O
Digital	O
Domain	O
several	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
creators	O
said	O
they	O
had	O
difficulty	O
making	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
appear	O
as	O
if	O
she	O
were	O
"	O
alive	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
focused	O
intensely	O
on	O
movements	O
,	O
specular	O
highlights	O
and	O
eye	O
blinks	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
"	O
bring	O
her	O
to	O
life	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
specular	O
highlights	O
also	O
had	O
the	O
intended	O
effect	O
of	O
making	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
shine	O
in	O
an	O
inhuman	O
manner	O
;	O
when	O
the	O
light	O
hit	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
at	O
certain	O
angles	O
,	O
a	O
rainbow	O
would	O
appear	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
skin	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
part	O
china	O
doll	O
,	O
part	O
disco	O
ball.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
shots	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
,	O
images	O
were	O
deliberately	O
downgraded	O
and	O
had	O
scan	B-Algorithm
lines	I-Algorithm
added	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
character	O
appear	O
more	O
artificial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
visual	O
representation	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
appeared	O
solely	O
during	O
advertising	O
and	O
on	O
her	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Demonstrations	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
abilities	O
and	O
images	O
of	O
the	O
character	O
could	O
be	O
viewed	O
at	O
the	O
now	O
defunct	O
website	O
,	O
mya.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Raimondi	O
said	O
he	O
believed	O
the	O
name	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
a	O
play	O
on	O
the	O
words	O
'	O
My	O
assistant	O
 '	O
,	O
as	O
did	O
Sidney	O
Matrix	O
in	O
the	O
book	O
Cyberpop	O
:	O
Digital	O
Lifestyles	O
and	O
Commodity	O
Culture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
made	O
her	O
debut	O
on	O
March	O
26	O
,	O
2000	O
in	O
a	O
60-second	O
advertisement	O
shown	O
during	O
the	O
72nd	O
Academy	O
Awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ad	O
featured	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
dressed	O
in	O
her	O
evening	O
gown	O
and	O
wearing	O
a	O
headset	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
ad	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
steps	O
out	O
of	O
a	O
stretch	O
limousine	O
and	O
walks	O
down	O
the	O
red	B-Application
carpet	I-Application
for	O
the	O
show	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ad	O
declared	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
to	O
be	O
"	O
the	O
darling	O
of	O
the	O
e-world	O
,	O
the	O
24-hour	O
talking	O
Internet	O
"	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
abilities	O
would	O
change	O
users	O
 '	O
lives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
making	O
her	O
first	O
advertising	O
appearance	O
in	O
March	O
,	O
the	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
program	O
was	O
not	O
scheduled	O
to	O
be	O
ready	O
until	O
December	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
subsequently	O
received	O
considerable	O
media	O
attention	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
featured	O
on	O
the	O
front	O
covers	O
of	O
USA	O
Today	O
,	O
InStyle	O
,	O
Wired	O
and	O
Adbusters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
promotion	O
for	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
showed	O
Hugh	O
Hefner	O
sitting	O
in	O
a	O
limousine	O
with	O
two	O
Playboy	O
Bunnies	O
,	O
asking	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
to	O
read	O
him	O
his	O
emails	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
program	O
was	O
on	O
display	O
at	O
the	O
Motorola	O
wireless	O
booth	O
at	O
COMDEX	O
in	O
April	O
2000	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
visited	O
by	O
then	O
president	O
Bill	O
Clinton	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
"chok[ed]	O
up	O
halfway	O
"	O
through	O
a	O
demonstration	O
for	O
the	O
president	O
and	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
restarted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
Sidney	O
Matrix	O
stated	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
"	O
disappeared	O
"	O
after	O
her	O
debut	O
commercial	O
;	O
in	O
August	O
2000	O
,	O
a	O
Yankee	O
Group	O
vice-president	O
stated	O
the	O
debut	O
advertisement	O
for	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
a	O
"	O
great	O
ad	O
,	O
but	O
where	O
have	O
 [ Motorola ] 	O
gone	O
with	O
it	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
spot	O
drove	O
viewers	O
to	O
its	O
website	O
to	O
demo	O
the	O
product	O
...	O
but	O
failed	O
to	O
market	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
further.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
never	O
documented	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
released	O
,	O
nor	O
was	O
there	O
an	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
program	O
's	O
cancellation	O
;	O
Motorola	O
abandoned	O
their	O
trademark	O
for	O
'	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
 '	O
on	O
September	O
19	O
,	O
2002	O
and	O
their	O
trademark	O
for	O
'	O
Myosphere	B-General_Concept
 '	O
on	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Libby	O
Callaway	O
from	O
New	O
York	O
Post	O
stated	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
one	O
of	O
their	O
favourite	O
"	O
virtual	O
babes	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
said	O
she	O
threatened	O
to	O
take	O
Lara	O
Croft	O
's	O
title	O
as	O
the	O
internet	O
's	O
most	O
popular	O
pin-up	O
girl	O
,	O
also	O
describing	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
as	O
"	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
'	O
cyber	O
assistant	O
 '	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whilst	O
admitting	O
that	O
the	O
character	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
visually	O
appealing	O
,	O
John	O
Sullivan	O
of	O
Wireless	O
Insider	O
also	O
stated	O
that	O
Motorola	O
"	O
went	O
overboard	O
"	O
by	O
trying	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
program	O
a	O
character	O
in	O
the	O
hopes	O
she	O
would	O
become	O
a	O
celebrity	O
in	O
her	O
own	O
right	O
,	O
and	O
accused	O
Motorola	O
of	O
trying	O
to	O
mimic	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Lara	O
Croft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
described	O
in	O
the	O
2003	O
book	O
Data	O
Made	O
Flesh	O
:	O
Embodying	O
Information	O
as	O
"	O
by	O
far	O
"	O
the	O
best-rendered	O
and	O
most	O
self-assured	O
digital	O
woman	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Writing	O
in	O
Popular	O
Mechanics	O
,	O
Tobey	O
Grumet	O
described	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
male-chauvinistic	O
creation	O
,	O
and	O
she	O
was	O
cited	O
in	O
the	O
2006	O
book	O
Physical	O
Culture	O
,	O
Power	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Body	O
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
simulated	O
sexualised	O
females	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sidney	O
Matrix	O
stated	O
that	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
seductive	O
appearance	O
and	O
sultry	O
voice	O
"	O
depended	O
on	O
,	O
borrowed	O
from	O
and	O
retrench[ed]	O
sexist	O
stereotypes	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
accused	O
Motorola	O
of	O
normalising	O
the	O
assumption	O
that	O
technology	O
users	O
are	O
both	O
male	O
and	O
heterosexual	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motorola	O
's	O
marketing	O
director	O
Julie	O
Roth	O
defended	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
appearance	O
and	O
voice	O
,	O
attributing	O
it	O
to	O
market	O
research	O
of	O
what	O
would	O
appeal	O
to	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
character	O
was	O
often	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
female	O
computer-simulated	O
character	O
for	O
Ananova	O
,	O
a	O
web-based	O
news	O
service	O
that	O
was	O
being	O
developed	O
around	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
's	O
character	O
was	O
generally	O
regarded	O
as	O
impressive	O
,	O
the	O
underlying	O
technology	O
was	O
described	O
by	O
Peggy	O
Albright	O
in	O
Wireless	O
Week	O
as	O
not	O
surprising	O
;	O
Albright	O
said	O
Motorola	O
was	O
"	O
latest	O
company	O
in	O
recent	O
weeks	O
to	O
introduce	O
a	O
voice-activated	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
"	O
,	O
as	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
announced	O
shortly	O
after	O
Microsoft	O
had	O
announced	O
their	O
MiPad	O
,	O
and	O
Lucent	O
had	O
launched	O
their	O
Mobile	O
Voice	O
Activated	O
Dialing	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Tobey	O
Grummet	O
spoke	O
highly	O
of	O
the	O
program	O
in	O
anticipation	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
was	O
described	O
by	O
Elliot	O
Drucker	O
of	O
Wireless	O
Week	O
as	O
a	O
solution	O
to	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
accessing	O
the	O
Internet	O
on	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
,	O
without	O
a	O
keyboard	O
or	O
large	O
colour	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
regarding	O
the	O
program	O
with	O
interest	O
,	O
John	O
Sullivan	O
doubted	O
that	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
would	O
persuade	O
people	O
who	O
were	O
not	O
already	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
to	O
start	O
using	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
if	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
could	O
only	O
read	O
emails	O
and	O
not	O
actually	O
converse	O
with	O
him	O
,	O
he	O
would	O
rather	O
just	O
read	O
his	O
emails	O
himself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dawn	O
Chmielewski	O
from	O
the	O
Orange	O
County	O
Register	O
called	O
Mya	B-General_Concept
a	O
"	O
crude	O
interpretation	O
of	O
things	O
to	O
come	O
"	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
speech	O
technology	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
not	O
without	O
its	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
