The Virtual Ramona Project was begun in 2000 by Kurzweil Technologies to envision the future of lifelike avatars in virtual spaces, and prototype their remote control by human operators. Out of this project came a live demonstration, by Ray Kurzweil, and the incarnation of the Ramona Chatterbot. Ramona is an interactive lifelike avatar (virtual personality) that you can converse with online. She's a "chatterbot" (conversational robot): using natural language processing techniques, she conducts conversations with visitors, responding to typed questions or comments with a human face, lip-synched speech and appropriate facial expressions. For the curious, she graciously answers questions about herself and her life story, including her burgeoning career as a virtual rock star.