Online voice services provider Vivox has announced that Multiverse will include Vivox voice in its Multiverse Platform, a development platform for virtual worlds.

Multiverse grants development teams free use of its platform with full SDK access, documentation, starter assets and sample worlds through revenue-sharing plans. The partnership with Vivox will allow developers to access pre-integrated voice chat and communications features.

Additionally, developers will be able to use 3D positional audio, buddy lists, presence, speaking indicators and management tools. Premium features such as voice fonts and voice mail will also be available.

Vivox customers and partners include online game and virtual world companies 1GPN, Inc., Alpha Innovation, BigWorld Technology, CCP Games, The Electric Sheep Company, FWD International, IBM, Icarus Studios, Illusion Factory, K2 Network, LanguageLab.com, Linden Lab, Monumental Games, Pixel Mine and Wizards of the Coast. The company was recently named a Front Line Award winner by Gamasutra's sister print publication, Game Developer Magazine.

Multiverse co-founder and CEO Bill Turpin commented, “Virtual worlds are three dimensional realms with increasingly complex social structures that demand strong, proven communications to thrive. By partnering with Vivox, we are enabling virtual world developers to quickly add Vivox’s superior voice services with minimal development effort or financial commitment. Our customers will be able to include feature-rich voice services designed specifically to enrich the virtual world experience with the full support of the Vivox team.”