Seventeen and JC Penney's Augmented Reality Online Shopping Tool Lets you Try Clothes on, Virtually.

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One of the coolest online shopping tools we've ever seen has just been launched on Seventeen.com in collaboration with JC Penney and the brainiacs at metaio—it's called augmented reality and it allows online shoppers to virtually browse, try on, and snap photos of themselves wearing things. It's a virtual try-before-you-buy—and all you need is a webcam.

"The application is a true breakthrough in online product visualization, as clothes are automatically overlaid on the consumer's real-time video image through their webcam," Kristine Welker, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hearts Magazines Digital Media, told Mediabistro's Fishbowl blog.

"With the help of our exclusive retail partner JCPenney, the virtual dressing room makes online shopping easy and viral: with the simple wave of a hand, shoppers can select, rate and share their top picks with friends via Facebook or email, and even purchase the items directly from JCP.com."

Currently, there are 34 items that can be virtually tried on in JC Penney's back-to-school augmented reality store and the company says it will have around 50 items by late August. Check it out yourself at Seventeen.com.

· Virtual dressing room [Seventeen]
· Augmented reality online shopping [YouTube]
· Hearst taps metaio for augmented reality shopping channel [Bizreport]
· Seventeen.com launches augmented reality shopping app [Mediabistro]
· Penney's sells back-to-school clothes the digital way [NY Times]