Virtual tours of museums and galleries are becoming an increasingly common aspect of e-Tourism marketing. This paper reports on a usability pilot study that analyses the design of icons in a German 3-D virtual art gallery interface. It evaluates the extent to which a sample of typical computer users can interpret the meaning of icons from the interface taken 'out of context'. This was done by assessing a sample of twenty-one icons representing the 'action', 'information' and 'navigation' functions. An Icon Intuitiveness Test (IIT) was used to measure their Icon Recognition Rate (IRR) and to classify them as 'identifiable', 'mediocre' or 'vague' according to an adapted stereotypy. The IIT results show that the meaning of almost 30% of the icons was misinterpreted or confused, which can seriously compromise the usability of an interface. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for icon redesign and replacement and it is concluded that further research is needed into the 'learnability' of icons and users' understanding of icons in context. It is contended that increased usability leading to an improved user experience can have an economic impact on e-tourism.

This paper reports on an empirical study (an extension of a pilot study) that analyses the design of icons in a German 3-D virtual art gallery interface. It evaluates the extent to which a sample of typical computer users from a range of ages, educational attainments and employments can interpret the meaning of icons from the virtual interface taken 'out of context' and 'in context'. The study assessed a sample of 21 icons representing the 'action', 'information' and 'navigation' functions of the virtual interface using a new IconRecognition Testing method (IRT) developed by the researchers from existing usability test methods.The Icon Recognition Rate (IRR) of the icons was calculated and they were classified as 'identifiable', 'mediocre' or 'vague' in a novel and useful classification system.The IRT results show that the IRR of almost a quarter of the icons was below the 'identifiable' standard, which could seriously compromise the usability of a virtual interface.A comparison is made, using textual and thematic analysis, between the participants' understanding of the icons' meaning in and out of context and of the effect of positioning icons in relation to their virtual surroundings and of grouping them in tool bars.From the findings of the study, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations are made for economical icon redesign and replacement.It is suggested in the conclusions that further research is needed into how designers' conceptual models can be better matched to users' mental models in the design of virtual interfaces by bringing user profiles into the study.

This paper describes a study of the development of a hierarchical ontology for producing and maintaining personalized profiles to improve the experience of visitors to virtual art galleries and museums.The paper begins by describing some of the features of virtual exhibitions and offers examples of virtual tours that the reader may wish to examine in more detail.The paper then discusses the ontology engineering (OE) approach and domain modelling languages (e.g.KACTUS, SENSUS and METHONTOLOGY).It then follows a basic OE approach to define classes for a cultural heritage virtual tour and to produce a Visitor Profile Ontology that is hierarchical and has static and dynamic elements.It concludes by suggesting ways in which the ontology may be automated to provide a richer, more immersive personalized visitor experience.