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The Internet is being increasingly used for the process of information delivery in distance education. There has been a considerable amount of research in asynchronous methods of information delivery over the Internet, while comparatively little work has been done with synchronous information delivery mechanisms. This work focuses on synchronous information delivery mechanisms and studies some of the problems that can hinder effective Internet-based education. It puts forward the concept of "Virtual Environments for Interactive Learning" that aims to solve these problems. We propose a methodology based on this concept to develop distance learning software. The design and implementation of the concept in a software prototype called Virtual Lecture Hall are detailed. A preliminary evaluation of the work is also made.