Curious Labs has begun shipping Poser 5, the new version of their award-winning 3D-character animation tool for artists and animators. Dynamic cloth and strand-based hair, photo-based facial mapping, and the new FireFly render engine are some of the new features included in Poser 5. Steve Cooper, president of Curious Labs, stated: "Poser's formula for success is to make difficult 3D-character tools easy to master, and price those tools so that any artist can afford to buy them." Poser 5 will initially only be available for Windows, although the company says it will announce details about a Macintosh version later this year. Poser 5 is available for a suggested price of US$349. More information on Poser 5 is available at www.curiouslabs.com.