avatar

In online chat, your handle used to be the thing that distinguished you from everyone else. But as 3D chat worlds proliferate, the avatars are taking over. An avatar is a graphical representation that you select to stand in for you; it can look like a person, an object, or an animal. Since an avatar may look nothing like you (unless you happen to resemble a blue fish), you should choose one that fairly represents the way you'd like to be seen by the people you're chatting with.

See also: IRC, handle