Welcome to the forum Lokia,
The avatar creation system we have now is in place since the birth of the project.
With other words, it is a very standard and amateurish concept most of us really want to see improved.
Now with more and more avatars coming on-line U.M.A will be really a welcomed feature.
Besides it gives us players the opportunity to create a unique avatar, it will also greatly improve performance due to the set-up from the U.M.A tool. Also adding content like clothes and armors will be something U.M.A could proof very useful for, as well for creating a wide range of creatures.
John told me he starts to work with the U.M.A as soon it is out BETA testing phase, something I expect very soon to happen. Eddie is in the BETA group keeping track of all ins and outs so it will be something they soon both working on.
To find more out from a developer point of view on U.M.A and to get some impression on how it will going to look visit the following web pages.
UMA work in progress on the Unity forum.Personal website dedicated to U.M.A development.