Apple secures patent for curious avatar creation tool

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has just granted Apple a patent for an advanced avatar creation and editing tool, that was filed for way back in 2011. The patent envisions of a software for creating virtual avatars which may be used across a variety of services, including, but not limited to, messaging apps, email clients, address books, and games.

The possible applications of the avatar platform are too many, but judging by the graphics included with the patent documentation, Apple may be going for a creation platform similar to Microsoft's Xbox Avatars and Nintendo's Miis. Further, one of the graphics shows an example screen for a Game Center-like service, displaying a user-created avatar alongside player stats.