Virtual Worlds

Q:"Are virtual worlds like Second Life a fad or a technology that will endure?"

Virtual reality "is not a fly-by-night technology. It's not a passing fad," (Morrison,s (2009) A Second Chance for Second Life. The Wall Street Journal. Available from:http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB125064110693841789-lMyQjAxMDI5NTEwOTYxNDkxWj.html [Accessed 9 November 09]) I fully agree with this statement. I believe virtual worlds such as Second Life to be that of ground breaking technology. At first virtual worlds were only used for "gaming" and were compared to computer games such as The Sims. Second Life has become much more superior to any other game out there today. Many people are investing money in Second Life and have set up their own businesses and services here. University lecturers can deliver classes and seminars to their students using this technology, this is very useful when it comes to "hard to reach" students . There is an increasingly growing market for these virtual worlds in today's society. This growing market is due to the notion of a "new economy" and access to it. It is estimated that there is already over 100 million active users (avatars) of virtual worlds and I believe this number will continue to increase as more and more people become familiar with the concept. I cant see this idea of "virtual worlds" disappearing anytime in the near future, it has only begun to grow and has not yet reached anywhere near its full potential.