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Article: Virtual worlds: today and in the future.(SELECTED TOPIC)(Virtual World Entertainment)
- Article from:
- Business Credit
- Article date:
- June 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 National Association of Credit Management. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Increased broadband access and the emergence of more powerful computers for everyday use are fueling a rise in the popularity of shared multi-user online spaces known as virtual worlds.
Virtual worlds are simulated environments accessed by multiple users through an online interface. Other terms for virtual worlds include digital worlds, synthetic worlds, and massively multiplayer online games. Perhaps you've visited one already. If not, your children probably have.
Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash envisioned a futuristic virtual world called the metaverse, in which characters controlled digital representations of themselves (known as avatars) in a ...