They can then spend the electronic currency on multiplayer games, casual games, and virtual worlds.
PlaySpan is currently on more than 1, 000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks.
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In 20 years, many of us will spend much of our time in game-inspired virtual worlds.
It is thus early days for technologies that link the physical and virtual worlds.
"Everyone's fascinated with virtual worlds, but they're starting to get a bit tired, " he says.
We have Webcasts, blogs, podcasts, cached video, virtual worlds, lists, mass texts, cable television.
"Next-generation games blur the lines between real and virtual worlds more than ever before, " he said.
Still, she sees projects like In-Q-Tel's as confirmation that virtual worlds have value for serious organizations.
Second Life has been the poster child for the growing interest in virtual worlds.
Mixing virtual worlds and virtual money creates some very real risks, to be sure.
Disney Infinity is rumored to transport plastic characters to virtual worlds with a USB peripheral.
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Along with RushmoreDrive, it is incubating several other niche Web services, including news, personal finance and virtual worlds sites.
The creation of virtual worlds turns out to be no substitute for advances in the physical world.
Though the shine is off virtual worlds, owner Linden Lab says Second Life is still doing well.
There are already a number of popular virtual worlds such as Second Life, There and Entropia Universe.
But he cautioned against over-regulating virtual worlds because that would stem the high levels of creativity they inspire.
The research could be good news for gamers who often rely on their quick reactions to navigate virtual worlds.
What it might take, he said, was software that would let people browse virtual worlds like they do webpages.
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Never before have there been so many options for gamers to keep active while still immersed in virtual worlds.
And while some virtual worlds have discouraged the exchange of game money for dollars, Linden Labs condones the practice.
And the behaviors that trigger us to feel fear, or trust, or empathy can now be constructed in virtual worlds.
"A significant percentage of the world's population will be able to make a living working in virtual worlds, " says Booker.
Marc Goodchild, head of interactive and on-demand at BBC Children's, said virtual worlds for children were popular with parents too.
Back on April 1, Congress held its first hearing on virtual worlds, and no, it wasn't an April Fools prank.
In South Korea's omnipresent "PC bangs" ( bang means room in Korean), millions lose themselves in virtual worlds day after day.
Those who spend a lot of time online playing in virtual worlds are interested in keeping their day (or night) job.
In fact, he believes virtual worlds as a whole may need an injection of real-world connection before they slip into obscurity.
When integrated into games, virtual worlds and other simulated environments, this technology will have a profound impact on the user's experience.
More radical technology could exacerbate those kinds of problems as virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft become ever more engrossing.
So Google decided to build a browser from scratch, explicitly for those fledgling services, from word processing to snazzy virtual worlds.
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