The Web3D Consortium is pleased to announce that Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), has advanced its Web3D Consortium membership level to Directing Member. Virginia Tech (VT) has been an active Organizational member in the Web3D Consortium since 2007, contributing to the significant progress of several Web3D Technical Working Groups including X3D, X3D-Earth, User Interface and Medical.

VT's move to Directing Membership in the Web3D Consortium is a recognition of the acute importance of international standards development and support in the ecology of networked information and services. As research, education and commercial enterprises are increasingly managing interactive, time-varying virtual environments, cross-platform publishing can only scale through the portability, interoperability and durability that standards provide.