Posted 01/28/09 at 10:47:35 AM by Paul Lilly

If ever there was a case for parental controls, it's this: According to Virtual Worlds Management, there are now over 200 youth-oriented virtual worlds live, planned, or actively being developed. In other words, rather than grab a ball and glove after school, kids left on their own with access to a computer will literally have hundreds of virtual worlds to choose from and plenty of opportunities to spend their allowance.

When broken down into worlds targeting kids (7 and under), tweens (8-12), and teens (13+), VMW says "the kids market is the clear leader," noting 107 worlds are banking on at least part of their audience consisting of kids in the under-7 range. To make money off these markets, 59 of the virtual worlds use micro-transactions, giving users free access to the world but charging for virtual goods. Another 57 worlds follow the subscription based model, and 46 use advertising, VMW says.

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Posted 12/18/08 at 02:35:45 PM by Andy Salisbury

According to a recent report enterprise virtual worlds are much more effective than web conferencing for conducting business. The report is based on the idea that possessing the ability to expand, introduce characters and produce virtual presentations in a simulated environment will easier and more cost effective.

In fact, the technology has already been demonstrated. At Fall IDF 2007 Pat Gelsinger gave an on-stage presentation lasting nearly a half-hour entirely though Second Life. He displayed how simple it was for users to create their on avatars, and engage in virtual business. It’s even expected that shopping will take a virtual turn sometime soon, with online shoppers viewing texture maps instead of products and virtual sales assistants instead of store clerks.

While this idea is cool, it sounds shockingly familiar. Either way, the potential for twenty-something, extremely fit avatars walking into business meetings seems extremely high, and that’s an idea that I can only promote.

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Posted 06/20/08 at 07:08:59 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Although trustworthy subscription figures are still awaited, Second Life undoubtedly is the most populated virtual world. It was launched five years ago on June 23, 2003. Second Life’s developers have planned a fest to mark its 5th anniversary. The celebrations will be confined to the Second Life world only.

The extended birthday bash is scheduled to last for two weeks from June 23rd to July 7. Obviously, there will be self-laudatory speeches from the Linden Labs top brass detailing exactly how Second Life has changed the world. Anyways, the fest is being plugged as a cultural event.

Second Life’s developers are trying to churn out a clean event with a PG rating and have expressly proscribed mature content in any of the exhibits.

Image Credit: McNutt 

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