this is the Technology Report.Movie fans know that their action hero Supermandoes not really fly.And, in the movie Superman Returns,another visual trick is played on viewers.The man they see flying is not real.He is what is called a virtual actor.The first step in creating this digital actoris to have a real person stand in a roomcalled a light stage.A computer then captures the outlinesand shapes of his faceand records how they throw off light.Paul Debevec is with the Institutefor Creative Technologiesat the University of Southern California."We can light them with very speciallycomputer-controlled illuminationand take photos of themfrom seven different viewpointswith high resolution digital still cameras."Mr. Debevec is part of a team workingto create computerized images of people,objects and environments that look and act real.The light stage permits actorsto be turned into digital versions of themselvesmuch like the blue creatures in the movie Avatar.The real world could soon be using a similar technology.Computer experts at the Instituteare developing a 3-D video teleconferencing system.It would send a video image of a person into a meeting room.That image would be able to workwith the people in the room,who would see it in 3-D without special eyeglasses.Paul Debevec says:"The person who is being transmitted to a remote locationcan actually look around at the people in the roomand everybody in that room knows who they're looking at.And that's such a fundamental part of human communication."He believes the business world will beginto use 3-D video teleconferencing in the next five years.The Institute is using its light stageand Interactive 3-D Display technologyto record video testimonies of Holocaust survivorsfor the Shoah Foundation."Do you remember any songs from your youth?""This is a lullaby that my mother used to sing to meand I still remember it. It's in polish."The Foundation is also at the University of Southern California.The 3-D images will be shown on special screens in classroomsor museums and will be set up to answer questionsabout the Holocaust from students and visitors."It could be about faith. It could be about love.It could be about beliefs.It could be about identity."Kim Simon is managing director of the Shoah Foundation."It's also a medium with which young people todayare particularly comfortable.And, the amount of information that comes throughseeing a person's face and hearing their voiceat the same time is multiplied."A demonstration of an interaction between a Holocaust survivorand students may be possible in a year.In 10 years, we may be able to play 3-D video gameswithout special glasses.