Gemsta.com, which launched in December last year, was developed by real world architects, landscapers, interior designers and programmers to create a photo-real world across a number of ‘islands', complete with light reflections on rippling water and the sound of rustling palm trees. Using the latest Flash animation technology, visitors can travel through different virtual arenas, browsing various shopping categories and clicking on brand ‘posters' to be taken through to that retailer's website. 

At Gemsta, you can buy everything from mobile phones and insurance to women's fashion, homeware or gifts. The first ever 3D Virtual Farmers Market (vfmuk.com), which launched this January, takes care of your food and drink. Using the latest games technology, this site lets you ‘stroll around' a 3D farmers market and ‘meet' the producers behind the products.

So whats the future?
In an era of iPlayer, Xbox and Playstation, when we take virtual exercise on our Nintendo Wii and watch movies such as Avatar in 3D, it seems only natural that we should be able to shop online in the same intuitive way. On Second Life, the virtual world, users interact and carry out activities via avatars, which they can send in to shops to pick up and try on items of clothing and pay with virtual money. While Gemsta and Virtual Farmers Market are not quite at this stage yet, at the rate technology develops, such an experience - but this time using real money and buying real items - cannot be far away.

The future of shopping - to be continued.

Libertine's latest exhibition is Guy Portelli: Heart Throb, which runs from Wednesday 17th March for six weeks.

Portelli's sculptures have been selected from his Pop Icon Collection and express the presence and stage persona of performers such as Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and The Spice Girls.

Click here to watch Guy's pitch to the Dragons.

The project is a chamber in which the viewer is surrounded by LCDs displaying synchronised imagery from Google's Street View or Google Earth, giving the effect of flying through landscapes - including Google Earth's latest seabed imagery.

The Teletransporter a great invention for letting men go to the bar with their mates without having to worry about the girlfriend.

CRM is here, and here to stay.

With points-based reward programmes being seen by consumers as ‘too long a wait to receive anything of real value', online product promotions are over-taking traditional loyalty programmes as the key to customer retention.

Above are examples of the online CRM programmes that Libertine run for Gatwick Express (the dedicated airport train that transits between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria) and Heathrow Express (the air rail link between Heathrow Airport and London Paddington).

Libertine launched both programmes in 2008, with some amazing results:

• The online customer base has grown from a miniscule 5,000 in 2008 to over 90,000 unique opt-ins in 2010.
  
  
• Open rates are averaging 17.5% and CTR's at 8.7%.
  
  
• Online and offline customer touchpoints are being ROI-maximised.
  
  
• LTV (Lifetime Value) can be tracked, monitored and increased as the introduction of real-time trigger-based CRM really takes off.