A method of executing a virtual conference among a plurality of nodes including a first node, wherein there is a display device associated with the first node that is configured to display a virtual conference window containing images of participants at other nodes of the plurality of nodes, is presented. The method entails activating the virtual conference window in response to receiving a selection in the virtual conference window, wherein the activating of the virtual conference window triggers a process of identifying one of the nodes as an attention recipient and displaying the attention recipient's image differently than images of other nodes. Where private chat function is available, attention recipient may be identified based on who the participant at the first node is chatting with. Images may be augmented to add an illusion of space and distance.