Assorted virtual worlds, old and new and upcoming

Rapper 50 Cent enters Virtual World Zwinktopia

By Michele Gershberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Even in a virtual world on the Internet, teens long to be cool. And what can be cooler than a Ramones T-shirt on your self-styled Web persona?

Zwinktopia, the fashion-conscious virtual community from IAC/InterActiveCorp., is letting major musicians set up shop in its universe, with deals for a boutique from rapper 50 Cent to tout an upcoming album and virtual merchandise from rock bands like the Clash, the Sex Pistols and Slipknot.

The deals mark a first for both the musicians and the growing Zwinktopia community, home to more than 6.5 million registered "Zwinky" users who create and dress Web characters, then use them to interact with friends online.
What started as a game mimicking a child's play with baby dolls has burgeoned into a new business opportunity for entertainment and brands, the next frontier for Web growth after social networks like News Corp.'s MySpace.

Lego Universe Virtual World To Have Community Features?

Lego and NetDevil have confirmed the title "Lego Universe" for their partnered virtual world and set a release goal for the fourth quarter of 2008. The game has family-friendliness in mind with an idea to "provide a child-safe alternative to other MMOGs on the market." Details about actual gameplay have yet to be released, but the game will "[tie]together all aspects of our community and line of products in an online environment" by "merging the online world of social interaction with the LEGO concept of play."

The platform will allow for "character advancement, expansive social and community features" where users can "customize [their] mini-figs and interact in the universe as any character [they] choose, providing unique opportunities for players to expand and explore with their creations."

Word has surfaced in IT Media News (Japanese) of a new 3D virtual world out of Japan apparently named meet-me and funded in part by trans cosmos. meet-me (at least in this article) is being positioned as similar to Second Life. A Google Translate provides some attempt at translation.

From what we can tell from the Google translated article:

- expected to be released this winter
- no adult content (women and children welcome)
- replicates real world Tokyo
- replicates shopping - so there will be some type of ecommerce or transaction economy.
- Runs on Windows Vista but plans call for other platforms including mobile phones
- The real world seems to effect the virtual one - If season and also the weather the actual world reflect should have made, in Tokyo the cherry tree has bloomed, and the cherry tree blooms in the hypothetical space, if the rain falls in Tokyo, the rain falls in the hypothetical space, that - - it makes the shape which was said.
- Users can build a range of items including houses

Forterra Announces Immediate Availability of its On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment Platform as a Software Development Kit for Customers and Partners

San Mateo, Calif. - June 1, 2007. Forterra Systems, the market and technology leader in private virtual worlds, announced today the immediate release and availability of its On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment - OLIVE™ 1.0 platform as a software development kit (SDK). This version of OLIVE is the 11th release for the architecture going back to 2004 and the first targeted for use by a wide range of third-party developers ranging from learning instructional designers and 3D content creators to software developers. With the OLIVE 1.0 release third parties can now create their own virtual world solutions for distance learning, group collaboration, and networked communities using this proven virtual world platform. The SDK enables developers to build and support persistent virtual worlds where users can collaborate over networks for the purposes of communications, training, rehearsal, analysis, experimentation, socialization, and entertainment. The SDK consists of a set of tightly integrated modules, tools, and documentation that generates, distributes and operates highly realistic virtual environments. Over 1000 run-time 3D content assets as buildings, vehicles, objects, and user-controlled characters known as avatars are available with the SDK to give customers and developers a large head start towards creating their own virtual worlds.

OLIVE 1.0 provides many unique capabilities relative to other virtual world offerings on the market. Forterra has available on its website a variety of whitepapers that provide technical explanations of these capabilities.
Create Private Secure Worlds
Deploy behind, through Firewalls
Control deployed content and user access
Open & Extensible Architecture
Compatible with leading 3D content tools
Integration to a variety of real-world data systems
Compatible with emerging interoperability standards
Reliable & Available
Anytime, anywhere availability from LANs to the Internet
Tunable performance and scaling
Better User Experience
Spatialized 3D audio through integrated Voice over IP (VoiP)
Engaging, realistic avatars
Configurable user interface
eLearning, Training & Rehearsal Features
Distributed 3D record & review
SCORM compliant LMS integration

Over $50M has been invested to date in the OLIVE architecture yielding one of the most scalable, realistic virtual world environments available. "This technology will be a transformative force for our customers. They are already indicating that they can achieve their business goals more quickly, less expensively, and with greater reach through creating their own virtual worlds." said Dave Rolston, Forterra's CEO. "Our customers and partners are already creating an amazing array of compelling applications around distance training, organizational exercises & rehearsals, virtual office collaboration, emergency preparedness, customer service, product/process prototyping, therapy & rehabilitation, partner communities, town meetings, and retail operations optimizations."