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The Growing Perils of Online Game-Play September 08, 2008 
As MMORPGs such as "World of Warcraft" and virtual worlds such as Linden Labs' Second Life continue to attract millions of users, they have also begun to attract cybercriminals, according to a recent report from ESET, a software security vendor. "Criminals follow the money trail," said Jeff Debrosse, director of research at ESET.
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Who Polices Virtual Worlds? July 31, 2008 
Law and order is one of the cornerstones of a civilized society. Establishing rules of conduct, spelling out acceptable and objectionable behavior, defining the consequences for anyone who violates those laws and deciding who will enforce them are all essential to maintaining peace and harmony.
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Internet Angst, Identity Crisis, Relationship Drama: Recapping a Neurotic Week July 11, 2008 
A vulnerability in the Internet's domain name system left essentially the entire Web open to widespread attack, but the technology community worked to patch the flaw before it could be exploited. Dan Kaminsky, a security researcher, noticed that the DNS was vulnerable to domain cache poisoning, and the discovery amounted to a red alert for the security community.
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Google Invites Avatar Banter in Lively Chat Rooms July 09, 2008 
If you already thought it was a Google world and we're all just living in it -- well, now you can with the introduction of Lively, Google's free 3-D virtual world application that brings game-like qualities to the concept of Internet chat. "The Lively team wants to help people experience another dimension of the Web," Niniane Wang, a Google engineering manager, wrote in a post on the Official Google Blog.
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Virtual Worlds: And the Children Shall Lead July 01, 2008 
Virtual worlds, despite all the press attention of late, are still in the early stages of development. Virtual worlds came into existence several years before YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, but their adoption rates pale in comparison to these services. Only 7 percent of Internet gamers ages 13 and older visit a virtual world on a weekly basis, according to a recent Parks Associates survey.
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Virtual Space Travel, Part 2: Surfing to Mars June 14, 2008 
Now that NASA has entered the virtual world with its two islands in Second Life, public outreach, collaboration and space exploration may never be the same again. On its CoLab Island, outreach and collaboration are the focus, as Part One of this two-part feature explains. Its other island, called "Explorer Island," focuses on the engineering and science-visualization side of space exploration.
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Virtual Space Travel, Part 1: One Small Step June 07, 2008 
For those of us old enough to remember life before the Internet, the term "virtual space travel" probably conjures memories of childhood visits to the local planetarium. Fast forward to today, and things are just a little different. In today's Internet-enabled world, ordinary citizens can explore the universe from the comfort of their own homes.
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Disney Reaches New Dimension With Google Earth 3-D Experience June 06, 2008 
Disney World and Google are teaming up to take tourism to a new dimension. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worked with programmers at Google Earth to create a fully three-dimensional virtual viewing experience -- said to be the most advanced rendering Google has ever created.
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Kids in Second Life: Does Danger Lurk? May 08, 2008 
Second Life is no place for kids, a Republican congressman declared Monday. U.S. Representative Mark Kirk has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting a consumer alert warning about the dangers of Second Life, which he charges could expose kids to child predators and registered sex offenders.
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Virtual Real Estate: Building on an Imaginary Foundation April 30, 2008 
No less true today than it has been since the notion of private property became one of the main pillars of Western society, investing in real estate is one of the most popular means of amassing wealth. Now, a new breed of "virtual" real estate investors and developers is emerging.
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No Going Home Yet for PS3 Fans April 22, 2008 
Sony Computer Entertainment pushed back its open beta test for the launch of Playstation's Home, a 3-D virtual world, from the summer to the fall, marking the second time the company has delayed the launch of the product. Unlike traditional games, Home is a sandbox world designed to allow players the flexibility to build, create and interact with other players without directed goals.
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Big Blue's Secure Second Life Fortress April 04, 2008 
IBM is putting its heft behind a project that could morph into new way of doing business in Second Life, Linden Lab's virtual 3-D community. The two have partnered to build a protected enclave in Second Life where the company can conduct serious business without fear of marauders.
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AI Program Thinks Like a 4-Year-Old March 11, 2008 
Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created a reasoning virtual 4-year-old child. The "child," named "Eddie," can reason about his own beliefs to draw conclusions in a manner that matches human children of that age. To test Eddie's reasoning powers, the group created a demo in Second Life.
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Around the E-Commerce Corner: More 3-D, Avatars March 11, 2008 
What is the biggest difference between shopping online and shopping in a store? In a store, customers can wander from place to place until they find something that appeals to them. Online, they usually need to have a good idea of what they are looking for in order to locate it. A small but growing number of companies are trying to alter that equation.
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The Building Blocks of Contact Center Consolidation March 10, 2008 
Contact consolidation is not for the lighthearted. For years, contact center management has been attempting to control costs by reducing the number of agents, physical sites and consolidating software and hardware solutions. Often these attempts are in conflict with customer and corporate demands. How do we increase contact center availability? Improve customer satisfaction? Reduce operational costs?
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Getting Ahead in Domain Name Trading March 07, 2008 
Most of us are painfully aware that the real estate market has been on the decline for some time. In fact, some experts feel that it might take at least two years for prices to hit bottom. However, an interesting twist is bringing good news: Virtual real estate prices are on the rise! In fact, we now have active trading in domain names.
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