Unlocking the Business Potential of Virtual Worlds

Abstract

For businesses, virtual worlds - computer-simulated environments in which individuals interact with one another via avatars representing their digital selves - offer a collaborative tool that has a number of possible uses, from saving money on travel and conference expenses to employee training. But despite virtual worlds organizational potential, their workplace usage is still low, and a number of initial attempts by companies to establish a presence in virtual worlds met with failure. The challenge for longer-term virtual world adoption by corporations lies in clearly demonstrating the technology's business value to the organization.