Virtual Reality Check

I have been fighting 2 bugaboos: pneumonia and Christmas shopping. I'm not sure which is more persistant! Because of the pneumonia, I have been doing a lot of my shopping in the Web. But there is a problem with shopping on the Web. You can't touch, feel, mash, mangle or stretch the goods, not to mention your inability to try things on. Just HOW are we expected to buy shoes that we can't try on? And who would want to buy shoes without trying them on?

But, if we could effectively integrate advanced virtual reality with the Web shopping experience, that would be a different story altogether! Can you imagine "trying" jeans on in the privacy of your own house? (I wonder if virtual jeans would split if you bent over in a too small pair?) Or "walking" around in a pair of $700 shoes? I could get excited about the possibilites of this idea!

Chances of it developing are slim. The retail marketers would not be happy about this. But it is an interesting thought.