Google Lively not so Lively?

Back in July Google launched their 3D Lively program where users could create an avatar and rooms to chat to friends, we did in fact try it out but were not overly impressed, Google are now pulling the plug as it seems Lively is not so lively:
"Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it's the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people's lives. But we've also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off.
That's why, despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we've decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year.
It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business. Lively.com will be discontinued at the end of December, and everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams."

Goodbye Lively
Source: Official Google blog