(FORTUNE Magazine) – In the Internet's brief history, three-dimensional imagery has attained roughly the same status--a gimmick that never quite catches on--as it has in movies. The sole attempt several years ago to create a 3-D Web standard, VRML, led to ugly images too big to pump through the Web's tiny pipes.

Now, with e-commerce sites eager to woo online shoppers by giving them a chance to better experience their products, the race for 3-D is heating up--and it's looking as if the technology may move from frivolous bauble to mainstay. Two of the leading contenders are Cycore's Cult3D 5.0 and MetaCreation's Metastream 3.0.

Both try to create a feeling of tactility online. For example, using Cult3D, Palm's Website not only allows you to rotate images of Palm personal digital assistants through space and examine them from every angle but also permits you to press the buttons on the Palm devices and "operate" them. Cult3D's newest feature: You can now use it--away from the Web--to create 3-D graphics and images in both Microsoft's PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat. (We'll leave it to you to decide whether it's a good idea to arm speakers with even more toys for their PowerPoint presentations.)

Customers seem to like 3-D technology. For instance, products displayed in 3-D at Timebeat.com, a wristwatch Website, have enjoyed a 10% to 15% sales boost. And the 3-D pages have 50% higher view rates than their 2-D counterparts, says Timebeat's Michael Fomkin.

Of course, embedding 3-D presents technical challenges. Fast PCs and up-to-date browsers are usually a must, so online merchants aren't chucking their 2-D visuals. Still, 3-D has come a long way from '50s-era creature features. And you don't need to wear those silly glasses.

--Greg Lindsay