<s>
O3D	B-Application
is	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
(	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
license	I-Operating_System
)	O
JavaScript	B-Language
API	B-Application
created	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
for	O
creating	O
interactive	O
3D	O
graphics	O
applications	O
that	O
run	O
in	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
window	O
or	O
in	O
a	O
XUL	B-Application
desktop	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
O3D	B-Application
may	O
be	O
crafted	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
any	O
application	O
area	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
geared	O
towards	O
games	O
,	O
advertisements	O
,	O
3D	O
model	O
viewers	O
,	O
product	O
demos	O
,	O
simulations	O
,	O
engineering	O
applications	O
,	O
control	O
and	O
monitoring	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
massive	O
online	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
O3D	B-Application
is	O
currently	O
in	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
incubation	O
lab	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
originally	O
built	O
as	O
a	O
web	B-Protocol
browser	I-Protocol
plugin	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2010	O
,	O
O3D	B-Application
is	O
a	O
JavaScript	B-Language
library	O
implemented	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
WebGL	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
O3D	B-Application
is	O
viewed	O
as	O
bridging	O
the	O
gap	O
between	O
desktop-based	O
3D	O
accelerated	O
graphics	O
applications	O
and	O
HTML-based	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proponents	O
assert	O
that	O
creating	O
a	O
full-featured	O
3D	O
graphics	O
engine	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
and	O
run	O
through	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
may	O
eliminate	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
install	O
large	O
applications	O
on	O
a	O
local	O
desktop	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
O3D	B-Application
to	O
maximize	O
reusability	O
amongst	O
application	O
resources	O
,	O
while	O
providing	O
a	O
robust	O
interface	O
to	O
the	O
client	O
's	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
and	O
GPU	B-Architecture
using	O
JavaScript	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
O3D	B-Application
used	O
a	O
plug-in	O
based	O
architecture	O
which	O
allowed	O
3rd	O
party	O
developers	O
to	O
integrate	O
custom	O
functionality	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
pre	O
-	O
and	O
post-render	O
effects	O
,	O
particle	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
physics	O
engines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
plugin	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
C	B-Language
,	O
it	O
communicated	O
directly	O
with	O
hardware	O
;	O
thus	O
,	O
the	O
speed	O
of	O
scene	O
rendering	O
was	O
largely	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
GPU	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
computer	O
rendering	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Now	O
,	O
much	O
of	O
this	O
same	O
functionality	O
is	O
built	O
into	O
WebGL	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
advantage	O
O3D	B-Application
has	O
over	O
alternative	O
desktop	O
or	O
console	O
based	O
3D	O
rendering	O
engines	O
is	O
that	O
O3D	B-Application
may	O
load	O
,	O
render	O
,	O
and	O
transform	O
models	O
and	O
their	O
respective	O
textures	O
dynamically	O
,	O
using	O
AJAX	B-General_Concept
and/or	O
COMET	B-General_Concept
in	O
real	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
remote	O
resources	O
may	O
be	O
designed	O
,	O
developed	O
,	O
and	O
maintained	O
outside	O
the	O
core	O
rendering	O
or	O
viewing	O
application	O
within	O
a	O
typical	O
object-oriented	B-Language
MVC	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
7	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
O3D	B-Application
would	O
be	O
changing	O
from	O
a	O
plugin	O
to	O
a	O
JavaScript	B-Language
library	O
running	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
WebGL	B-Library
.	O
</s>
