Virtual reality is about to get rather real

When Facebook (FB) bought virtual reality hardware company Oculus for $2 billion, it was big news. Oculus' VR goggles could be used in gaming, communications, media and education. But a head-mounted display, no matter how good, is just so 2013.

The newest developments go far beyond the visual. VR suits will put users literally into the middle of an electronic world. Some companies say that not only let users manipulate imaginary objects, but actually feel what would be happening to them if their worlds could turn physical.

A U.K. company called Tesla Studios (no relation to Tesla Motors) is developing a smart textile suit, which will be able to deliver a full-tactile VR system for a virtual sense of touch, as well as software games and applications.

If ultimately successful, that would go far beyond what companies like PrioVR and Control VR have promised, which is equipment that would let computers mimic the movement of hands, legs and torsos to more completely and naturally control the experience in a computer game.

Tesla users would eventually be able to choose from a number of settings, like a beach. "You could meet [someone] in the sand, touch each other, hold hands, hug," CEO Dimitree Marozau told CBS MoneyWatch. "You could use it for work, watching movies, playing games."

The suit will use a mesh of sensors that employ technology from the medical rehabilitation industry. Small electrical impulses will translate into physical sensations. "Professional sports coaches use it," Marozau said. "We just made the technology smart. You could do massage. Scratch your back on the screen of your phone [and feel the results in the suit]."

Of course, given the proclivities of the Internet, chances are good this will be used in many ways other than as an electronic back-scratcher. The online porn industry would have a bonanza if it's able to transmit physical sensations to customers.

Currently, the Tesla prototype device consists of a controller belt, gloves and sensor bands for arms and legs. The company hopes that within a year it will have the smart textile version so a virtual world will be as close to you as your skin -- or someone else's.