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Based on comprehensive research available through VWM's Virtual Worlds News,  there are now over 150 virtual worlds operating or in development with a focus on the youth market (18-and-under). That's up from just over 100 in April, though not all of these are new developments.

As in April the tween category (here looked at as 8 to 12) leads with 88 worlds live or in development (up from 62 in April), followed closely by kids worlds (7 and under) with 72 worlds (up from 52 in April) and then teens (13-18 years old) with 60 worlds (up from 44 in April).

intelligent or affective tutoring system that can adapt its response to the emotional state of people by interaction through a computer system

software systems would significantly improve performance if they could adapt to the emotions of the user

"There's always this thing in the back of my mind as a reason why virtual worlds haven't caught on yet," Gauthier continued. "There isn't too much to do here. You can chat, and that's about it. And we feel that's not enough to keep people interested in the long term. It might be in the short term, but then people give up."

It's similar to serious games mixed with a social and business network.

the goal is to have companies or individuals build their own worlds and connect them through the provided server technology based on X3D

At the recent Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo at San Jose, Calif., the two companies are announcing exciting new plans to develop open standards that will allow avatars to leave their own virtual community to visit others.

IBM and Linden Lab's working together

The companies want to create “a truly interoperable 3D Internet.” Basically it’s like passports for avatars.

Ziel des Projektes ist es, durch persönliche Befragungen herauszufinden, welche Angebote sich die Besucher dort wünschen und was sie für Visionen von evangelischer Kirche in virtuellen Umgebungen wie Second Life® haben.

Die Internetarbeit der EKD [www.ekd.de] sowie Mitarbeiter der Institute für Religionswissenschaft an der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg und der Universität Bremen begleiten die Auswertung und die wissenschaftliche Analyse der während des Projekts gewonnenen Daten.

Accelerated Recovery Centers, der ersten Alkoholikerhilfe, die die Online-Welt "Second Life" in ihr Therapiekonzept integriert

Patienten werden in Atlanta und auf der virtuellen Insel Identity Island betreut. In "Second Life" führen sie Einzel- und Gruppengespräche und durchlaufen spezielle Trainingsprogramme, in denen sie lernen, auch in Stresssituationen dem Alkohol zu widerstehen.

Das Zimmer mit der Bronzestatue gibt es wirklich. Shelly sieht das originalgetreue Abbild eines Therapieraums in Atlanta. Der Mann hinter dem Avatar ist David Stone, Geschäftsführer und Gründer der Firma Accelerated Recovery und seit über 20 Jahren praktizierender Psychologe. Er sieht seinem Avatar verblüffend ähnlich, ebenso wie Shelly dem ihren.

For its aliens, “Avatar” will present characters designed on the computer, but played by human actors. Their bodies will be filmed using the latest evolution of motion-capture technology — markers placed on the actor and tracked by a camera — while the facial expressions will be tracked by tiny cameras on headsets that will record their performances to insert them into a virtual world.

research firm eMarketer, who estimates that 20 million children will be members of a virtual world by 2011

Derzeit arbeiten die 3D-Plattformen im Netz noch nach dem so genannten "Walled Garden"-Prinzip: Sie sind allesamt voneinander abgeschottet, wie man dies einst von Online-Diensten in den Neunzigerjahren her kannte. Mit gemeinsamen Standards, die etwa das Rendering von Avataren und Gegenständen vereinheitlichen, soll sich das künftig ändern, schreibt das Technologiemagazin Technology Review in seiner Online-Ausgabe. Auch der Austausch von Accounts und der nahtlose Übergang von einer Welt zur nächsten sind eines Tages geplant.

20 Firmen, darunter auch große Player wie der IT-Konzern IBM und der "Second Life"-Betreiber Linden Lab, wollen künftig zusammenarbeiten, um eine gemeinsame Basis für ein zukünftiges "3D-Internet" zu finden.

My standard strategy for explaining my research to those caught up in the effects debate is to point out that playing these games isn’t just like playing real instruments, but it’s nothing at all like just listening to music. It’s a third thing, a new way of musicking.

everyone I’ve interviewed for my research reports that the games have substantially changed the way they listen to popular music when they’re not playing

I want to suggest that the most important value-added aspect is the potential for performance