The concept of Avatars has gained ground recently as a result of the success of the 2009 film directed by James Cameron. However, the Sanskrit word Avatar has been used since ancient times to refer to a manifestation or appearance of a Hindu deity.

In modern times, Avatar is a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, or a two-dimensional icon used on Internet forums and other communities. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.

The word Avatar has been gaining ground recently in marketing terminology as the “perfect client”. From a marketing point of view, when developing an avatar, we need to look at a number of different aspects when identifying our perfect client.