I said a couple of things about World of Warcraft, the online gaming industry and the phenomenal growth rates of the sector. World of Warcraft is famous, and so is Runescape, but as a few readers pointed out there is more, the virtual world is not limited by Role Playing games.
Second Life is more an extension of our every day (longed for ?) reality than a replacement. Critics say that Second Life has failed any its practical and business enhancing promisis and has become a world where the most important activity is to act out our darker hidden sexual desires.
That’s only half the story, and in fact Second Life after it’s hype is a very diverse community where you can be part of the old hippy grateful death scene, discuss psychological theories, visit university and virtual businesses. The idea that the whole thing serves no other business purpose than the bank account of Linden Labs has yet to be seen. It’s a similar story as we heard before about to the impracticality of the World Wide Web
Second Life is not alone, there are many more “worlds” ready for you. The great part about the bigger communities like WoW and SL is that they are large enough to act as real “simulations” of real life society affairs. From an always emerging economy, social stratification to civil disobedience.
A little compilation of active virtual worlds :
Second Life
