Virtual Worlds

Description

Susan Kish [1]:

"Our emerging future will include three separate kinds of “worlds” – the Real World, the Digital World (2D Web, Internet), and the Virtual World (3D Web).

Under the umbrella of Virtual Worlds are emerging universes, ranging from MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online games, such as World of Warcraft), and Metaverses (Virtual Worlds that are primarily social vs. game oriented, such as Second Life), to MMOLEs (focused on learning and training environments), to Intraverses (putting up a virtual world inside the corporate firewall), to Paraverses (often also called Mirror Worlds, such as Google Earth).

Virtual Worlds are fundamentally immersive, visually compelling and highly social experiences. Trusted relationships, both personal and professional, emerge quickly in these environments and can carry over into the real world. Skish_virtualidentities These worlds provide a degree of control to individuals – control over their age, their gender, their appearance and their setting – that enables escape and fantasy. Pure curiosity, and the desire to explore and to create, causes many to visit – and often stay." (http://www.lunchoverip.com/2007/10/second-life-vir.html)

More Information

Full introduction at http://skish.typepad.com/susan_kish/secondlife/SKish_VW-SL_sept07.pdf

Illustration at http://giussani.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/14/skishvirtualgeography.jpg