Ukrainian engineers launch video service to reduce anonymity online

Ukrainian engineers have invented and launched first live video social network to help people be more frank in the internet and to reduce anonymity online. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Monday, Anton Melnik, the Co-founder of Runfaces video service said "The main aim of the new resource is to change the quality of communication in the network. Make it more real. Indeed, anyone may be hidden by the text and pictures. And the video can not be forged. We can always see the real face of the interlocutor." People often face fraud on the Internet talking by text messages, while video reduces the possibility of swindle, Melnik said. The new service also gives the opportunity to people with disabilities to access long distance education, as it allows remote lessons. It is important for Ukraine where there are a total of 2.5 million disabled people. Looking for like-minded friends who are not hidden behind the pictures from the Internet is also an important component of the project, according to its founders. The new platform has already attracted 14,000 users, mostly from abroad. According to local experts, in 2011 tricksters from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) fraudulently stolen about 950 million U.S. dollars from unsuspecting Internet users.