A new method of studying English via the Internet is about to be launched in Europe and Japan. It is a virtual language school, where everyone can talk to anyone else, just as in a normal classroom, and where a teacher is constantly available. This is the first school of its type, according to EF Education, the language-teaching company that is developing it. The students are represented on screen by graphic figures, and can raise their hands, or express thoughts and feelings through facial expressions. Dialogue takes place over the Internet using a microphone.