Patent ID: 8350844

Claim:
A method of automated monitoring of attention given to a virtual object in a computer-simulated environment by at least one avatar-controlling computer user, comprising: associating, by a processor, a viewing region with the virtual object, wherein the viewing region comprises a region of the simulated environment within which avatars are deemed to be capable of acceptably viewing the virtual object; monitoring, by the processor, an attention region for an avatar; determining, by the processor, that a text character recognition algorithm is able to recognize text displayed on the virtual object from a viewing angle of the avatar to the virtual object at a distance of the avatar from the displayed text; detecting, by the processor, when the virtual object is within the attention region of the avatar simultaneously with the avatar being within the acceptable viewing region of the virtual object based on the determination that the text character recognition algorithm is able to recognize text displayed on the virtual object from the viewing angle of the avatar to the virtual object at the distance of the avatar from the displayed text; and generating, by the processor, an attention event in response to said detecting.