1. A method for interpreting data for use in a haptic rendering of a virtual environment, the method comprising the steps of: accessing graphical rendering data in a graphics pipeline of a 3D graphics processor, wherein the graphical rendering data is collected from a virtual camera and comprises data generated to produce a 2D screen view of a 3D virtual object in the virtual environment; and interpreting the graphical rendering data for use in a haptic rendering of the 3D virtual object in the virtual environment, wherein the interpreting step comprises defining a force to be transmitted to a user via a haptic interface device.