Interactive avatar community WeeWorld has launched a beta for its new virtual world, tentatively titled World, inviting all registered users to chat and make friends with their WeeMee avatars in real time for free.

Previously, users were only able to create customizable and portable avatars through WeeWorld, attaching them to their personal accounts with AOL Instant Messenger, Skype, and other partnering services. According to WeeWorld, over 21 million WeeMees have been created to date, making them the most widely used portable avatars in the world.

World currently allows users and their WeeMees to explore its diverse environments, such as the Chillax Station hang-out and the undersea-inspired Nautilus Club, while chatting with and meeting new friends. As development continues, WeeWorld intends to add more cities, chat area, gaming elements, and mini-queusts which users can complete for exclusive assets or prizes.

Said WeeWorld's general manager and senior vice president of marketing: "Our users are passionate about their WeeMees and provide very detailed feedback about what they want. Each day we share that feedback with every member of the company so we can respond to their needs. We don't code for months or years and then release a fully baked experience. Our users wanted a synchronous virtual world where they could meet each other in real time and have more gaming abilities. World was the natural next phase of our business; now we can continue to tweak it based directly on user feedback."