Description Virtual Centre of ExcellenceInteractive Storytelling is a major endeavour to develop new media which could offer a radically new user experience, with a potential to revolutionise digital entertainment. European research in Interactive Storytelling has played a leading role in the development of the field, and this creates a unique opportunity to strengthen its position even further by structuring some of its best actors within a Network of Excellence. IRIS (Integrating Research in Interactive Storytelling) aims at creating a virtual centre of excellence that will be able to achieve breakthroughs in the understanding of Interactive Storytelling and the development of corresponding technologies. It is organised around four major objectives: - To extend Interactive Storytelling technologies in terms of performance and scalability, so that they cansupport the production of actual Interactive Narratives. - To make the next generation of Interactive Storytelling technologies more accessible to authors andcontent creators of different media backgrounds (scriptwriters, storyboarders, game designers). - To develop a more Integrated Approach to Interactive Storytelling Technologies, achieving a proper integration with cinematography. - To develop Methodologies to evaluate Interactive Storytelling systems as well as the media experience of Interactive Narrative. Scientific Objectives: - To develop a novel, integrated approach to Interactive Storytelling, in particular by achieving a proper integration of story generation with cinematography. - To develop methodologies to evaluate Interactive Storytelling systems as well as Interactive Narrative as new media. Technological Objectives: - To advance Interactive Storytelling component technologies in terms of performance and scalability, so as to support the integration of experimental prototypes. - To make the next generation of Interactive Storytelling technologies more accessible to authors (scriptwriters, storyboarders, game designers), so as to make possible the transition to Interactive Narrative. Interactive Storytelling can be defined as the endeavour to develop new media in which the presentation of a narrative, and its evolution, can be influenced, in real-time, by the user. Interactive Storytelling is one of most promising technologies for the development of new media and new forms of digital entertainment. Interactive Storytelling is an interdisciplinary discipline, requiring techniques from Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Graphics, as well as knowledge from psychology, media studies, drama theory, narratology, etc. The growing interest in Interactive Storytelling as a Research topic and as a potential technology derives from the current competition between traditional and interactive, digital media. Interactive Storytelling is of interest to broadcasters and computer game producers alike (see the many sessions at successive Game Developers Conferences). In the former case, Interactive Storytelling will bring interactivity into traditional media, potentially revolutionising the entertainment experience. In the latter, it would improve the narrative and 'aesthetic' value of computer games, with the potential to develop new game genres and attract a wider audience. Interactive storytelling is thus poised to play a central role in the convergence of digital media.