1. The Australian (Australia) - Is putting real-life law into an avatar's hands viable? "The difficult business of enforcing law and order in virtual worlds -- and resolving the messy consequences when problems spill into real life -- needs to be debated before knee-jerk political responses. Over the past fortnight Facebook memorial sites for murdered Queensland children … [Read more...] about The Watch – virtual worlds in the news
The Archive
Momentum continues with counselling in virtual worlds
This post appeared earlier this week over at Metaverse Health. It's coming up to a year since we interviewed DeeAnna Nagel and Kate Anthony and discussed counselling in online environments broadly and in virtual environments more specifically. Over that time, the Online Therapy Institute has continued to grow. One example of this is the announcement of a five-hour course on … [Read more...] about Momentum continues with counselling in virtual worlds
Merged realities – events and issues for virtual worlds
The news and events keep on coming thick and fast: 1. There.com has announced its imminent closure due to funding issues. It's always sad to see a growing virtual world cease operation, particularly one that offered at least some level of content creation. Frenzoo are offering lifetime VIP accounts to content creators on There.com. All the details here. 2. Two OpenSim grids … [Read more...] about Merged realities – events and issues for virtual worlds
Book Review: Total Engagement
Byron Reeves is a Stanford University Professor and Co-Director of the Human Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute. J. Leighton Read is a serial entrepreneur and CEO with an interest in the psychological aspects of gaming. The premise of the book is the potential for games to become central in the workplace. It sounds a far-fetched premise initially, but that's … [Read more...] about Book Review: Total Engagement
The Watch – virtual worlds in the news
1. CNET (USA) - Where virtual worlds once ruled, FarmVille dominates. "Almost every week for the last few years, it seems, I've gotten a press release or a pitch touting some company's great new Facebook games network or kids' virtual world. And why not? Companies like Zynga and Playfish are making money hand over fist with their collections of massively popular social games, … [Read more...] about The Watch – virtual worlds in the news