With the 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference coming this September 15-17 and registrations now open for the Austin, Texas event - which includes both 'Online Gaming' tracks and a special Worlds In Motion Summit for businesspeople and brands looking to get into virtual worlds, it's time to continue highlighting a few of the already-announced lectures:

- BioWare Austin technical director Bill Dalton will share his studio's selection criteria and methods for evaluating third-party components in an MMO context. The informative session, Licensed Software - Cost Benefit Analysis, will focus on engine technologies, but will also touch on third-party tools.

- Representing GarageGames, the publisher behind online gaming platform InstantAction, lead programmer Ben Garney will deliver an advanced lecture on Efficient Robust Networking for network programmers and engine designers, as well as MMO developers seeking to maximize the number of players they can support on each server. He'll share battle-tested techniques for maximizing networking code, increasing scalability, and resisting hackers and cheaters.

- Kenyon and Kenyon attorney and editor of textbook Business and Legal Primer for Game Development S. Gregory Boyd will discuss the effects different virtual property models have on design, game play, and revenue generation. In his talk, Comparing Virtual Property Models - A Business and Legal Perspective, Boyd will compare and contrast virtual property structures in the U.S. and abroad for both games and social networks. This session will be an excellent opportunity for attendees to learn how important choosing the right virtual property model is to a project's success.

For more information, including a number of other key already debuted lectures that we'll be highlighting weekly here on WorldsInMotion.biz, alongside further new Worlds In Motion Summit/online keynote specifics as they happen, check out the official Austin GDC 2008 website.

In advance of its report on "How to Justify Enterprise Investment in Virtual Worlds," information and technology research and advisory firm Gartner has outlined a three-step, incremental approach that it believes will constrain costs and emphasize benefits for virtual worlds, helping companies gain needed funding and approvals.

According to the firm, business leaders are hesitant to invest in virtual worlds due to lack of clarity on their proven benefits. Said Gartner fellow and vice president Steve Prentice: “Despite understandable concerns about investment during a time of growing business uncertainty, we believe that the internal deployment of virtual worlds offers most enterprises significant benefits in cost savings and improved productivity.”

Gartner encourages companies to first emphasize their virtual worlds as training environments. Environments and scenarios can be replicated online for trainees to interact with each other and their trainers through avatars. "The benefits of improved employee knowledge and training can be clearly enumerated, and the savings (or transference of funding) compared with established training methodologies can be reliably calculated to build a credible and substantiated business case."

The firm then advises that companies extend their virtual-world deployment to support collaboration and employee interaction, enabling clients to cut down on travel and associated costs when gathering employees to a single site. Said Gartner, "The ability to show cost savings — for example, reduced use of expensive videoconferencing or telepresence facilities, as well as reduced international travel and "downtime" — to support and offset the initial investment forms the basis for a credible and defensible business case."

For the final stage, Gartner suggests adding a virtual world recreation of the social environment in workplaces, including seating areas, white boards, and even a water cooler. The contributions of these arrangements can be measured in their benefits to employee satisfaction, morale, retention, and innovation.

Prentice concluded: “The bottom line is to take a cautious and staged approach toward introducing virtual-world projects into the enterprise; moving too far and too fast will significantly reduce the chances of success, increase costs and make the benefits more difficult to quantify and attribute. By following the three-step sequence, virtual-world investments will have a greater chance of success and will lead the way toward future funding and deployment."

Talent management and retention solutions provider Kenexa has unveiled SimSJT: Customer Service, an online simulation platform designed to assess customer service aptitude. The program uses its virtual 3d environment to measure knowledge of roles associated with customer service.

SimSJT: Customer Service aims to help identify talented candidates with exceptional customer service skills, theoretically predicting job performance and reducing staff turnover. Users are led through a series of customer service episodes in a variety of locations - restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and offices. Kenexa believes that SimSJT has the added benefit of maintaining the interest and attention of candidates, reducing candidate attrition.

SimSJT: Customer Service is the first of a series of SimJST online assessments built on Kenexa's e-Psymulate platform. Kenexa plans to release assessments measuring Integrity, Teamwork and Safety Awareness in the next 12 months.

Said Kenexa president and CEO Troy Kanter: "Traditional text-heavy Situational Judgment Tests, or SJTs, rely on candidates reading through and comprehending often lengthy passages before they respond. Our SimSJT eliminates the need for this text-intensive approach by replacing it with simulated interactions that the candidate watches and listens to. Kenexa has a long history of delivering custom simulations for clients in the U.S., Europe, Russia and Australia. Through this work, we realized that a lot of customer service behaviors are consistent across positions or cultures. An off-the-shelf product, such as SimSJT, can be deployed rapidly across a wide variety of market sectors and industries."

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

This week, our Online World Atlas looks at Build-A-Bearville, the online world attached to the Build-A-Bear brand. Still in public beta, the online world allows users to play games and chat using avatars, and also allow users who purchase physical Build-A-Bear toys to bring their stuffed animals to "life" in the online world using special codes that come with the toys.

Name: Build-A-Bearville

Company: Build-A-Bear Workshop

Established: October 2007

How it Works: Build-A-Bearville is experienced on the web through a combination of html and Flash. It requires no installation, other than of the technology (if you don't have it installed already.) Navigation and gameplay are accomplished via mouse and keyboard input.

Overview: Build-A-Bearville offers a customizable avatar, home and spaces for players to interact with each other. Only players who designate each others as friends can chat freely, with all other discussion keyword based "safe chat". Players can play games and embark on quests to earn "Bear Bills" which can be used to purchase clothes and furniture in in-world stores.

Payment Method: Build-A-Bearville is free to play, and earns revenue through its position as an extention of the Build-A-Bear brand. Players who purchase physical Build-A-Bear toys receive exclusive adventures and items as a result.

Key Features:
- Browser MMO featuring the Build-A-Bear brand
- Customizable avatar and home, with clothes and items to buy
- Safe chat with unknown users
- World is extended for users who purchase physical Build-A-Bear toys

Useful Links:
Official Parent's Info
Official FAQ
Build-A-Bear Workshop

Howard Marks is a big believer in brands. In 1991, he and Bobby Kotick invested in ailing publisher Activision, parlaying the strength of the company's name into an industry giant again; Kotick still serves as CEO.

Now, Marks is hoping to do the same with defunct publisher Acclaim, using that company's name and image to bolster a new publisher whose stock in trade is free-to-play MMOs catering to a number of audiences, including its PonyStars (pictured). During the ongoing Paris Game Developers Conference, the CEO spoke on the rise of the free-to-play model, and why he became involved in it.

The Revolution

Opened Marks, “I’m fascinated by the idea of people playing together. This is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it’s all free.”

“What is a revolutionary?" he asked, drolly revealing a slide of Che Guevara and answering that he is not one. "But some people in Asia created this free to play model, and it is some sort of revolution,” he added.

He pointed to the recent example of Radiohead, whose free release of the album In Rainbows spurred web traffic and awareness, and then led to sales.

Marks described how the free-to-play model can supplant subscription- or time-based models. At one point, he explained, games in China frequently operated on time-based point systems, but that system quickly became obsolete when free-to-play games were imported from countries such as Korea. Those time points quickly became repurposed into microtransactions.

3D virtual spaces and avatar provider IMVU has come out of stealth mode to announce that its platform has reached 20 million registered users and currently offers 1.5 million items in its virtual goods avatar.

The IMVU platform offers a wide range of features, including virtual rooms, personalized avatar home pages, a 3D messenger, a virtual goods catalog, groups, forums, developer tools, and interactive games.

Founded over four years ago, IMVU has expanded its community primarily through viral growth. According to VC firm Menlo Ventures, IMVU generates $1 million in revenue per month through its micro-payments economy. The service offers virtual credits which users can purchase and spend on user-created goods.

Said IMVU CEO Cary Rosenzweig: “Today’s announcement is dedicated to the wonderfully creative IMVU community of developers and members who want to express their unique selves using 3D avatars. The developers are a passionate part of the community and their creations inspire other members to express themselves in incredibly unique ways. I personally have great fun interacting with such a vibrant and growing community.”

Online game publisher Outspark has announced that it will soon allow players in its MMORPG Fiesta to virtually tie the knot through in-game weddings. Leading up to the new feature's launch, Fiesta will offer its users purchasable in-game tuxedos, wedding dresses, and wedding certificates beginning July 3rd.

The event will follow Fiesta game master WiLDFiRe's wedding with bride Isya in two special in-game ceremonies on July 1st and 2nd, both of which players can attend ater completing a wedding quest. Outspark has also teamed up with technology provider Dynno to allow up to a thousand players to watch a live broadcast of the event.

Also, Fiesta will host bachelor and bachelorette parties from June 24th to June 27th as WiLDFiRe's wedding date approaches. During the parties, players will be able to dance, socialize, win prizes, and more.

Talking as part of a keynote Q&A at the Paris Game Developers Conference, Blizzard SVP Rob Pardo has been discussing the history of world-leading MMO World Of Warcraft, revealing the game was originally planned as a free-to-play title.

Speaking as part of an in-depth conversation with GDC executive director Jamil Moledina, Pardo commented: “When were first going to make World of Warcraft, we wanted to make it free and advertising supported.”

However, the Blizzard exec noted: “We didn’t want to charge a subscription, but as we researched market conditions, we realized that wouldn’t support us.”

Elsewhere in the talk, Pardo discussed how the firm powered forward into the MMO genre with the PC MMO.

He quipped: “Very naively, or else we might not have done it.” Early inspirations were Ultima Online, and then Everquest - but Blizzard felt they could see the elements that made those games less accessible.

The full Pardo conversation at GDC Paris is now available on Gamasutra, including the Blizzard exec's thoughts on a whole host of major issues, from user-generated content through the Activision/Vivendi merger and beyond.

Online game publisher Gamescampus.com has announced a publishing deal with developer MaxOn Soft Corporation to launch Asda Story in the the U.S. market this fall.

Previously released in Japan in 2006 and in Korea in 2007, Asda Story is a free-to-play 3D MMORPG with a fantasy anime style. The game features a Soul Mate System with which two players can use a "soul mate" power to wear unique costumes and use special skills. Asda Story also incorporates a Real Costume System allowing players with extensive personalization and design options.

MaxOn Soft credits the two systems for generating a high female user ratio (20%) in the MMORPG since launching in Korea and Japan, as they enable players to personalize their characters and make them stand out. Gamescampus.com expects similar female ratios for the stateside launch of Asda Story.

Said David Chang, GamesCampus's newly appointed VP of marketing and business: "We are very pleased to announce our new partnership with MaxOn Soft which allows us to bring this wonderful product to the U.S. market. Asda Story has already built a successful following in Korea and Japan. It is an exciting and innovative 3D MMORPG, and we have every confidence it will be a major success in the U.S."

3D virtual worlds creator Icarus Studios and American Research Institute, an education and training services provider, have collaborated to form PowerU, a new venture offering an integrated learning infrastructure that incorporates 3DI (three-dimensional immersive) learning environments. The new platform aims to improve the effectiveness of workforce development.

Based in Morrisville, North Carolina, ARI supports several major organizations, including eBay, Microsoft, and the Air Force, with custom training solutions. The group specializes in designing its solutions with the latest instructional design technology and delivery infrastructure.

PowerU will use Icarus's Real Time development engine and nScale network architecture to add networked 3D environments with simulation systems to the ARI learning management environment. The resulting platform will enable users to create and deliver serious games and training courses with 3D approximations of real world scenarios.

With PowerU, users will not only have tools for creating and delivering 3DI learning scenarios, but services supporting instructional designers to develop 3DI content and interfaces to incorporate 3DI modules into existing learning infrastructures.

One of PowerU's first releases, a training course on sexual harassment avoidance techniques, allowed trainers to alter their content in different ways, such as switching the male aggressor to a female aggressor, to account for different real-world possibilities.

Said PowerU CEO and president Richard Kristof: “PowerU combines world-class instructional techniques and tools with a sophisticated game engine to serve the quickly growing immersive worlds/serious games market. This represents the most significant step forward in learning technology since training was first delivered over the Internet.”

Facing competition from internet heavyweights such as Cartoon Network and Webkinz, the Walt Disney Company has launched "Project Playground," a new initiative to redesign and reposition Disney.com over the next few months as a site focused on entertaining its users rather than promoting its merchandise and brand, according to a report from The New York Times.

Though Disney.com attracted up to 28.4 million unique visitors in May alone, ranking the site as the top online destination for children and family-oriented sites, the company is concerned with the time the average user spends at the official hub - 44.9 minutes. Compare that to Nickelodeon's group of family and child-oriented sites, which keep visitors busy for 79.8 minutes, mostly due to its Neopets virtual pet site.

Disney plans to make immediate entertainment, such as free video content, as the "central component" of its Project Playground effort, providing original clips and even full-length movies, such as Finding Nemo. Said Disney Online VP and managing director Paul Yanover, "It’s a repositioning of our digital front door."

The company also hopes to encourage more interaction with games that connect with user cellphones, such as a newly announced mobile component for Pixie Hollow, a forthcoming virtual world based on Disney's Tinker Bell fairy character. The mobile application allows users to create and care for a butterfly pet for their Pixie Hollow avatars, a feature not available in the online release.

Disney's executive vice president for mobile content, Larry Shapiro, commented, "I’m going to want to use my phone to feed and love my butterfly all the time. That kind of emotional vesting is what we’re after.”

With the recent launch of our new Worlds In Motion Job Board as a standalone board complete, complete with its own RSS feed and unique URL, every week, we will be higlighting the latest posted jobs relevant to our readership of professionals creating online worlds.

The listings cover a wide range of companies and open positions, so everyone seeking jobs in the MMO/online/virtual world industry should find the board useful.

- EA Redwood Shores (Redwood Shores, CA)
Sr Game Designer (Online Casual Games)
("Hasbro is looking for a passionate, dedicated, Online Senior Game Designer to lead the next generation of Online Worlds for Kids. This position is a great opportunity for a Senior Game Designer. You will be a key contributor to the team with responsibility to proactively create, manage and execute game designs ensuring both quality and timely delivery.")

- Funcom Oslo AS (Oslo, Norway)
Senior 360 Programmer, Rendering Programmer
("Funcom is a world leading independent developer and publisher of computer and console games with a focus on Action Adventure and Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG)... Funcom is currently developing two games internally, The Secret World and one unannounced MMOG project as well as operating the MMO's Age of Conan and Anarchy Online.")

- Multiverse (Mountain View, CA)
Game Programmer
("In July 2004, a team of Netscape veterans founded The Multiverse Network, Inc., a company aiming to become the world’s leading network of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) and 3D virtual worlds. Multiverse has pioneered a new technology platform designed to change the economics of virtual world development by providing independent game developers with the resources they need to enter and compete in the $2 billion online game market.")

As a reminder, once you've paid to post your job on Gamasutra, it's absolutely free to cross-post that job to any of Gamasutra's sister sites - including WorldsInMotion.biz!

Worlds In Motion will continue to highlight the online worlds-related jobs posted at our new standalone Worlds In Motion Job Board, every week.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Build-A-Bear is a well known brand in malls across the world, offering customers the chance to create their own unique bear to take home. Build-A-Bearville marks the entrance of the company into the online space, offering customers who've created a bear (and those who haven't) the chance to take an avatar into "Build-A-Bearville" to explore, play games and socialize.

Online game operator Sulake Corporation has announced that its teen social network site and virtual world, Habbo, formerly Habbo Hotel, has registered its 100 millionth user-created avatar since the service's launch in 2000.

According to Sulake, Habbo currently receives 10 million monthly visitors worldwide. In just the past six months, the community has grown by nearly 20 million registered new users, mostly due to a mix of factors -- new marketing and in-game campaigns, celebrity appearances in various countries, enhanced user features, and a recent site redesign.

Originally introduced in Finland, Habbo has expanded to 32 communities in countries across six continents. The service features an even ratio of female users to male users, with 70% of them aged 13-16 years old and 64% of its userbase visiting every day. On average, Habbo users spend 39 minutes at the site per visit.

Said Sulake CEO Timo Soininen: "During the past eight years, Habbo has maintained its vitality by listening to its users’ wishes and by adapting the service to meet Habbo’s needs. We humbly recognize the fact that Habbo is essentially our user’s own place and our role is to build and maintain a fun environment for them."

Soininen added: "This is an important landmark for Habbo. Attracting 100 million Habbos is a testament to how user generated content and activities in a fun cartoony setting create a compelling service and experience for teens. We have also lots of exciting plans for the future, and look forward to watching how Habbos engage with the world around them."

Seeking to reach the growing online Hispanic population (currently estimated at 19.5 million in the U.S.), virtual world developer and operator Makena Technologies has announced a collaboration with Mexican clothing brand NaCo USA to offer virtual clothes in There.com, as well as new opportunities for purchasing real-world merchandise.

The word "naco," in Mexican Spanish, is typically used as slang to describe tackiness or low-class manners, but the NaCo clothing brand was created in 1998 to embrace and celebrate the term. The company now boasts offices in Mexico City. Miami, and Los Angeles, selling its products in boutiques, department stores, and specialty retailers.

Now partnered with Makena, NaCo will have a specialty in-world catalog in There.com offering nine pieces of unique merchandise for players to buy and wear virtually. There.com users will also be able to purchase real-world merchandise as well.

Said NaCo founder and chief creative officer Edoardo Chavarin: "Because of There.com's demographic mix, the platform is a perfect fit for us to engage and connect with our target audience. We believe There.com's Hispanic audience will understand and appreciate our brand. Our customers spend a considerable amount of time on social networking sites and we believe that There.com's virtual world is the next evolution for interacting with our customers wherever they may be."

Makena Technologies CEO Michael Wilson added: "The Hispanic population in There.com is growing and comprises a very active segment of our community. We've seen an increase in the areas of our world that showcase this cultural influence and there are currently over 15 clubs in There.com that cater specifically to Hispanic audiences. With our members focused on self-expression and socialization, the fun, offbeat messages on NaCo's clothing offer our audience another unique way to express themselves."

Online game publisher Outspark has added to its MMOG offerings Project Powder, a new MMO snowboard racing title. The free-to-play game is currently in closed beta until July 8 and is scheduled to officially launch worldwide on August.

The final product will feature 33 courses, three game modes, multiplayer battles, and dozens of unlockable tricks. Players will also be able to purchase premium gear for their characters, such as new snowboards, clothing, and accessories.

Outspark is rewarding beta testers with in-game items and clothing by challenging them to reach level five and by hosting contests for different activities, such as screenshot taking and bug reporting. Players who can beat Project Powder's game masters in a race can also win real-world prizes, including music players and gift cards.

Russ Berrie hsa announced that it will introduce its new Applause brand plush toy line, SeaPals, on July 2 with "SeaPals Day" events at Ripley's Aquariums in Myrtle Beach, SC and Gatlinburn, TN, according to a report from public relations sites PRWeek.com.

As with Russ Berrie's Shining Stars toy line and accompanying site (and similar to Webkinz), kids can log into a virtual world with their SeaPals plush toy and register an online version to play with. The toy line includes plush reef sharks, manta rays, blue lobsters, and more. The SeaPals site will offer educational games and opportunities for children to interact with other players.

Said Litzky PR's management supervisor for Russ Berrie, Melissa Fogarty Winston, "The 'SeaPals Day' at each of the aquariums was created to reflect these different dimensions of the product through an experiential event. Children attending the Ripley's Aquariums functions will receive maps, passports, stickers, and educational materials.

Along with announcing that its avatar and 3D virtual spaces platform had reached over 20 million registered users, IMVU officially made its public debut earlier this week after spending four years in stealth mode.

IMVU reportedly generates $1 million in revenue per month through its micro-payments economy and catalog of purchasable virtual goods, and the company plans to expand on that through a partnership with prepaid card provider InComm. Soon, prepaid cards for IMVU credits will be available in Target, 7-11, Blockbuster, and Speedway stores throughout the U.S.

IMVU CEO and president Cary Rosenzweig took some time to talk with Worlds in Motion about the now public platform, including its growing virtual goods catalog and plans for attracting new users.

Why make your public debut now?

Rosenzweig: It has to do with celebrating these milestones. The 20 million registered users was a real milestone for us. We've also had the world's largest catalog for some time now. We recently crossed the 2 millionth item we've ever created, too.

It's time that we start telling the story. I think we have a better handle on what exactly IMVU is. For a long time, there were many different elements to it that we've been identifying. It's about people, and it's about our members meeting others from around the world.

All of this came together, and we decided that it's time.

Developer and publisher 38 Studios, formerly Green Monster Games, has appointed Thom Ang as its new director of art, where he will oversee the management and direction of all aspects of 38 Studios artistic development, including the company's forthcoming MMORPG codenamed Copernicus.

Founded in 2006 by Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, 38 Studios is working closely with author R.A. Salvatore and artist Todd McFarlane to bring its original fantasy IP to life with Copernicus. The company added former Everquest lead designer Travis McGeathy as Copernicus' new systems design lead in April, joining him with two other Sony Online vets, lead content designer and community development director Steve Danuser and design director Jason Roberts.

Previous to 38 Studios, Ang served as art director at THQ, managing over 25 titles. Prior to that, Ang held a similar position at Electronic Arts LA, where he handled visual concept development, art production, and team management for the Medal of Honor franchise.

Said 38 Studios CEO and president Brett Close: "38 Studios' creative teams have been meticulously crafting the signature look and feel for our upcoming MMOG over the past 18 months. Thom's extraordinary talent and experience will be key in driving the vision and quality of our Online Entertainment Experience."

Packaged food company ConAgra Foods has launched Spicy Side, a virtual world promoting its Slim Jim beef jerky snack food. Users can upload photos of themselves and create aggressive, mischievous avatars.

Slim Jim fans can challenge others in "real-time rumbles" and vandalize the digital Spicy Town, breaking mailboxes and spray painting walls. They can also collect hidden hidden Slim Jim snacks to unlock fighting moves and harass the virtual world's residents.

Spicy Side has uploaded a video highlighting the site's features which you can view at this link.

Developer Pelican Crossing has announced the release of Blink 3D 2.0, its virtual worlds and 3D environment development platform.

Blink 3D 2.0 comes packaged with Pelican Crossing's inDuality client, a feature which allows virtual worlds from different vendors to be embedded in web pages. This initial release of the client only supports Blink 3D virtual worlds so far, but the developer hopes to eventually add support for other MMOs, such as Second Life.

The new program suite includes video tutorials, BlinkScript code examples, knowledge base articles, forty new enhanced behaviors, and Orthographic Views, the last of which supports dragging and dropping of assets. The digital content creation pipeline has also been improved from previous versions with automatic asset importing and synchronization.

Three editions for Blink 3D 2.0 with varying price points have been released, with Blink 3D Ultra Lite, a feature-limited edition, being available for free.

Said Pelican Crossing CEO Clive Jackson: “We are not talking here about simply customizing a pre-built 3D apartment. With Blink 3D you can create your own virtual world, whatever type you want, quickly, easily and for free. With Web based virtual worlds there is no land to purchase, no membership fees, controlled branding and user access. Best of all, you get to teleport from one virtual world to another, with the linked worlds forming the Metaverse.“

He continued: "We have seen land grabs before: domain names, email addresses, personal web pages and more recently social networking pages. Now we will start to see the grab for personal virtual worlds tightly integrated with social networking pages, the beginning of the 3D Social Web.

Social network technology and online marketing services provider Wyndstorm has revealed Socialframes, a "destination widget" allowing companies to direct users to promotional sites and virtual worlds with tailored, branded content.

Socialframes provides a pre-built, interactive Web platform and content management system for creating dynamic and targeted online promotions. The platform also allows for profile-based content management, as well as in-scene IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) programming and video distribution within a 2.5D virtual world.

With the embeddable widget, multiple users can interact in Socialframes' 2.5D environments without needing to download additional software. Wyndstorm believes the platform would be suitable for a variety of industries, including online retail, training, gaming, financial services, transportation, and travel.

Said Wyndstorm CEO Marian Sabety: ""Brand marketers will love the ability to test a variety of promotions concepts or content delivery approaches. Companies looking to enhance sales will reap the benefits of collaborative online browsing for marketing intelligence and shopping with a friend for increased online sales.

With the 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference coming this September 15-17 and registrations now open for the Austin, Texas event - which includes both 'Online Gaming' tracks and a special Worlds In Motion Summit for businesspeople and brands looking to get into virtual worlds, it's time to continue highlighting a few of the already-announced lectures:

- CCP lead economist Eyjolfur Gudmundsson and Cartoon Network lead designer Sam Lewis will host a thorough discussion on economic design, scalability, and day-to-day economic management of virtual worlds, using practical examples from EVE Online and other MMOs. The session, Economic Design and Management of Virtual Worlds with a Large Shard Population is a must for MMO producers and designers interested in the application of economics to virtual worlds.

- Cartoon Network director of community relations Richard Weil and MindCandy.com director of community Rebecca Newton will discuss balancing community relations efforts with kid-targeted online games and virtual worlds. Titled Gaming Communities & Kids: Do You Know Your ABC’s?, the talk will also cover unique opportunities in community programs for kids, demographic-based communication tactics, and communication tools and methods used by younger online gamers.

- K2 Network's VP of India Market Development, Sumeet Maniar, will share his experiences publishing MMOG titles in India to give attendees an idea of the trends and issues with India's emerging MMOG market. As the Indian economy possesses many parallels with other developing countries in the gaming space, attendees will be able to apply what they'll learn in Emerging Market: India, Challenges & Pitfalls in other similar markets.

For more information, including a number of other key already debuted lectures that we'll be highlighting weekly here on WorldsInMotion.biz, alongside further new Worlds In Motion Summit/online keynote specifics as they happen, check out the official Austin GDC 2008 website.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape. You can view Part 1 of our investigation here, and Part 2 here.]

Build-A-Bearville maybe isn't an obvious MMO to cover -- after all, it's arguably more about helping to sell toy bears than it's about offering a full MMO experience, but with new toy/MMO crossovers more and more frequent it's a phenomenon more than worth exploring. We conclude our thoughts on Build-A-Bearville after the jump.

Independent digital distribution network Pixel Mine has announced that it will be soon be adding Austin developer Callipygian's debut title, Secondhand Lands, an "edgy fairy-tale" MMO that will utilize Pixel Mine's microtransaction system.

Made up of a number of staff members of Austin studios like Aspyr, Callipygian says the game will be targeted at casual gamers and "the disillusioned 'Mega-MMO' veteran who wants more interaction with the developers in their gaming experience."

Pixel Mine says the game is currently in closed beta and involves the "eternal struggle between two sisters: Little Bo Peep and Little Red Riding Hood," as players choose whether to play as sheep or wolves to support Bo Peep and Red, respectively.

Said Callipygian founder and Secondhand Lands lead, "We chose to work with Pixel Mine because they offered us the best value for our company and our players. As an independent developer it is very difficult to find a distribution deal that gives us a package with everything we need to manage accounts and handle payments. Also, we are excited to be working with another Austin company; this town is rich with talent and services tailored for game creation."

[The preceding article by Brandon Boyer originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]