In this paper we present an integrative framework centered on haptic interaction with virtual avatars. This framework is devised for general prototyping and collaborative scenario studies with haptic feedback. First we present the software architecture of the framework and give details on some of its components. Then we show how this framework can be used to derive in a short time a virtual reality simulation. In this simulation, a user directly interacts with a virtual avatar to collaboratively manipulate a virtual object, with haptic feedback and using fast dynamics computation and constraint-based methods with friction.