Abstract: Computers are being used more and more to model, simulate and render parts of the real or an imaginary world, and due to the importance of visual information for humans, computer graphics is at the very core of the technologies enabling the modern information society. New and emerging technologies such as multimedia, digital television, telecommunication and telepresence, virtual reality, or 3D Internet further indicate the tremendous potential of computer graphics in the years to come. Typical for the field is the coincidence of very large data sets with the demand for fast (if possible interactive) high-quality visual display of the results. Furthermore, the user should be able to interact with the environment in a natural and intuitive way.