Service: Modiface

What it does: Thinking about plastic surgery? Or maybe you'd like a preview of yourself sporting a mullet. Modiface lets you model these scenarios, and more. In a nutshell, the technology lets people upload their photos to the Web, and realistically modify facial features and hair in seconds. The company also claims the service could be used to create virtual world avatars, if it can find a suitable partner.

Why it will succeed: Modiface utilizes complex graphics technology, yet it's easy to use and fun to play with. Target users are consumers, but there is some potential for use by plastic surgeons, according to the company's founder. Business plan: Leverage portfolio of 14 patents via partnerships. Modiface is integrated with Facebook and more obscure sites such as Liftmagic.com and Hairmagic.com, and the company expects to announce eight more partnerships in the next quarter. The two-year-old startup says it is already profitable.

Net views:

Skin of the Stars: "For faces with some wrinkles, the software often works as intended. It can produce a new image with shallower wrinkles, higher eyebrows and slightly fuller lips."

Weberence: "As you can tell, the interesting bit is all the weird combinations that you can do with it."

Management: Founder and CEO Parham Aarabi, a former Stanford and University of Toronto researcher and a pioneer in image processing and face detection. Funding by University of Toronto plus angel investors.

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