From July 1 to 14, online game portal Gamescampus.com will host a closed beta test for MMORPG Concerto Gate, preparing for the Square Enix-produced game's North American release.

Concerto Gate is the sequel to Cross Gate, which was launched in Japan in July 2001. Though never introduced in the U.S., Cross Gate claims some 23 million registered users in Japan, Taiwan and Korea, and Concerto Gate features an updated game system and improved graphics.

Said Kevin Kim, CEO of OnNet USA, which runs Gamescampus.com: "I am thrilled and excited to introduce Concerto Gate to American players. Square Enix is, without doubt, one of the most famous developers in the world, and I believe the features of this game surely live up to their reputation. Concerto Gate is a terrific addition to Gamescampus.com, the leader in item-based games."

Square Enix producer Noriaki Watanabe added: "It is our pleasure to introduce Concerto Gate to American audiences through Gamescampus.com. We hope now that even more players can experience our game's revolutionary world and its exciting, new features."

Health service organization CIGNA HealthCare has announced the development of a 3D virtual health care community in the form of a Second Life island. The project hopes to provide visitors with seminars, interactive displays, educational games, and virtual health consultations to help foster help foster real and sustainable behavior change that improves health.

Developed by brand experience agency Method, the community welcomes arriving users with an avatar, which greets and leads them to the virtual seminars. The interactive presentation will allow users to participate in a variety of activities, such as learning about nutrition in the "nutrition zone" and voting on the fat content of particular food items.

Interactive games will also be available, such as "The Fridge," in which users click on food items to display their nutritional labels, and "Whack-a-Food," where players compete to test their knowledge of healthy foods.

Said Keith Dixon, Ph.D., president of CIGNA's health solutions unit: “As a health service company, we are always looking for new and creative ways to reach people with important messages about living a healthy and productive life. With a social interactivity that extends beyond geographic boundaries, and an exciting and appealing visual experience, CIGNA's virtual community enables us to reach an entirely new group of people that might not respond to health education messages delivered through more traditional channels.”

Analyst firm Gartner's vice president Carol Rozell added: “Companies are seeing measurable returns from using virtual worlds to create a more engaging communications experience with their employees and customers. The key to launching and maintaining a successful virtual world is to clearly identify a targeted audience, determine their needs, understand how they learn, and design a user experience that encourages interactivity.”

Webcasting and virtual events solutions provider ON24 has announced ON24 Virtual Show, a platform allowing companies and organizations to host trade shows, job fairs, conferences, and training summits in virtual venues.

ON24 Virtual Show customizable user interfaces, integrated webcasting and show reporting, profiles and message board discussions for professional and social networking, "smart booths" offering personalized content based on attendee's profile, and multilingual support.

ON24 believes that its service can help organizations reduce costs while decreasing the amount of time needed to plan and hold an event. Companies can also use the Virtual Show platform to extend physical trade shows with a virtual component.

Said ON24 president and CEO Sharat Sharan: "ON24 has a history of providing our customers with reliable solutions that work every time with global customer-centric service. With ON24 Virtual Show, we are transforming how organizations leverage webcasting and virtual events for their global communication and demand generation needs."

Following up his speculation that virtual worlds are heading for a severe downturn, The Digital Space Commons president and CEO Bruce Damer has outlined several ideas for creating a healthy and sustainable virtual worlds industry and promoting mainstream adoption.

He suggests that "small worlds" might eventually dominate the space, defining small worlds platforms as "easy to install and run programs or plug-ins serving lightweight spaces hosting a small number of users. The small worlds would exist parallel to the web, embedded in and drawing traffic from social networking sites. This would contrast more traditional virtual worlds, or "big grid-iron" worlds as Damer describes them, which exist in isolation from the web.

Damer believes that the industry should concentrate on the platform with the biggest footprint of potential adopters: "Social interaction both random and purposeful is the big user footprint available to virtual worlds especially when embedded into high-trafficked web-based social networks."

He adds that the platform also has to have the lowest barrier: "The small world form factor using already ubiquitous front end technology would naturally be the lowest barrier to entry to these users."

Though Damer recognizes that builder behind large grid-based virtual worlds with proprietary and heavy browser technology will likely not be interested in this approach, he notes, "The big grid-iron worlds approach may be enough sustain a company or two, but this is not sufficient to create a healthy industry."

He concludes: "One could envision inviting key players to a common poker game where the payout at the end of the evening might be a common small world platform tuned to the biggest user footprint and adopted by the biggest trafficked social networks? The stakes in this game are a new medium and a healthy industry and… social virtual worlds everywhere!"

The original creators of Neopets have founded their own company, Meteor Games, and announced production of an unnamed youth-targeted virtual world project, which features MMO-style gameplay and will benefit from the lessons learned from Neopets, according to CEO Adam Powell.

Neopets was originally founded in 1999 and acquired first by private investors and later acquired by Viacom in 2005 for $160 million.

Meteor Games is headquartered in West Hollywood, California, and is headed up by the two original creators of the Neopets franchise, Adam Powell and Donna Williams. Powell serves as Meteor's chief executive officer and and creative director, while Williams takes the role of chief operating officer and president.

According to the statement released by the company, its games will "cross the appeal of social networks, web-based casual games and traditional massively multiplayer online games." To find out more, Gamasutra talked with Adam Powell about Meteor and where it will take its new world.

Why did you choose now to found a new company and work on a new product?

Adam Powell: A lot of factors came into play, really. Personally, we're in a situation where we are able to make this company happen while at the same time, the industry has been going through such amazing growth. A lot of the trends we’re seeing – merging social networks, web-based gaming and MMO popularity – play well into our experience creating worlds and games. We just felt it was the right time for us to use our experience to create something new.

Cartoon Network New Media, cable television channel Cartoon Network's online publishing division, has announced Mini Match, a new 3D virtual world focusing on multiplayer match-ups and social gaming.

Players create customizable avatars in Mini Match, exploring environments based on adventure themes in Cartoon Network shows, such as Ben 10 and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. They will also play multiplayer games featuring characters and content from the channel's programs.

In the virtual world, players will be able to chat with one another using a custom dictionary loaded with only kid-appropriate words and phrases. By chatting, players can work together to solve puzzles and discover more about the Mini Match world, earning new avatar gear and in-game abilities.

Mini Match will be joined this fall by Cartoon Network's other MMO in the works, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall. Developed by Seoul, Korea-based studio Grigon Entertainment, FusionFall will focus on getting players to work in groups, featuring lots of platformer elements and a multitude of Cartoon Network characters.

Said Paul Condolora, senior vice president, digital for Turner Broadcasting System Inc.’s Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media Group: “Mini Match opens up a whole new world of gaming to our online audience. The action-adventure theme complements some of our most popular shows and provides kids with a safe virtual destination for social gaming. Kids can come and enjoy the multiplayer games or insert themselves into the fabric of the Mini Match story by joining the ranks of ninjas, pirates, space pilots and other characters, customizing their ‘Minis’ with the gear those adventurous characters bring.”

Social gaming site Playfish has raised $1 million in bridge financing from venture capital firm Accel Partners, according to VC news weblog VentureBeat.

Headquartered in London - with offices in Beijing and Tromso, Norway - Playfish has produced titles such as "Who Has The Biggest Brain?" and "Word Challenge," both featured in Facebook with in-game advertisements. The company boasts that its games are played 100 million times each month and have picked up over six million players.

PlayFish intends to use its new funding from Accel Partners to "make contacts while continuing to develop new games." The studio launched in October 2007 with $4 million in funding and backing from Accel Partners.

China-based online game developer and operator Giant Interactive has announced that it has acquired a 25% stake in Chinese social networking service provider Five One Network Development Co., for approximately $51 million.

Founded in 2005, 51.com claims approximately 120 million registered users, with 31.4 million monthly unique visitors logging in 18 times per month on average. Its average daily page views are as high as 350 million, while its average monthly page views exceed 10 billion.

Giant Interactive's catalog of titles include free-to-play MMORPG ZT Online, which was voted the most popular online game in China in 2006, according to International Data Corporation. The company has three other forthcoming titles, King of Kings III, Empire Sports, and Giant Online, the last of which began open beta testing in March 2008. Giant maintains a nationwide distribution network to sell prepaid cards and game points for its games.

Said Giant Interactive chairman and CEO Yuzhu Shi: "With this strategic investment in the largest independent social network service provider in China, we are positioning Giant at the forefront of the trend towards increasing convergence between online games and social networking communities. Enhancing the community-building and social networking aspects of our online games has been one of our key strategic initiatives."

He continued: "The combination of Giant's online game platform and expertise at free-to-play game monetization with 51.com's social networking business provides a unique opportunity to broaden our player base, expand our community-building opportunities, reinforce user stickiness, and extend the lifecycles of our games. The 51.com management is a well-known team of industry pioneers with strong operating capabilities and a deep understanding of their customers. We believe this investment has the potential to create significant long-term value for both Giant and 51.com shareholders, and will help us to remain at the vanguard of the online game industry in the coming years."

Organizers for the Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008 have announced three virtual world conference sessions for the event, which will take place August 10 - 12 at the Edinburgh International Conference Center.

The first talk, "Inline Transactions," will be delivered by Karl Mehta, CEO of of publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network PlaySpan. He plans to discuss how virtual world economies impact real-world economies through real money transactions.

Hemisphere Capital's Matt Rothman will host a session on “The 3 MMO’s– from Content to Community,” in which he will moderate a panel looking beyond technology to address "what it takes to build these new forms of entertainment." Redbedlam (RomaVictor) president Kerry Fraser-Robinson, Monumental Games (Football Stars) CEO Rik Alexander, and NiceTech CTO (Tronji-The Happy Lands) Toby Simpson are scheduled to participate.

For the third session, “Real Politics invade Virtual Worlds– dealing with social and economic issues in EVE online,” Redbedlam executive director Fred Hasson will interview Eve Online's lead economist and head of research and statistics, Eyjlfur Guâmundsonn, on the social and economic consequences of in-game communities.

[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.]

We're mixing it up in the Worlds in Motion Online World Atlas this week, by choosing to look at the browser-based (and largely single-player!) RPG Kingdom of Loathing. However, it's not completely off-topic, as the game features in-game chat, player stores and other community aspects. We go in-depth after the jump.

Celebrating the fifth anniversary of MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies, publishers Lucasarts and Sony Online Entertainment have announced the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game.

The first release for the online trading card game, Champions of the Force, is scheduled to debut late summer 2008. The game will be available exclusively to users with valid and active subscriptions to Star Wars Galaxies.

Subscribers will receive five free booster packs per month and will be able to purchase starter decks and additional booster packs through Sony Online Entertainment's Station Store.

The trading card game offers decks for both the light and dark sides of the Force, enabling players to fight virtual matches for the Rebel or Imperial factions. Players will also be able to collect cards within the MMORPG to add to their collection. In addition, “loot cards” can be redeemed for virtual items usable in the Star Wars Galaxies game.

Beginning July 22nd, Lucasarts and SOE will throw virtual “Empire Day” festivities which will include appearances by Princess Leia, regularly scheduled Imperial parades, in-game fireworks, performances by the Max Rebo Band, and the debut of two new statues for the Emperor and Yoda.

Furthermore, Star Wars Galaxies subscribers will also be rewarded with in-game items, such as a Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back virtual poster and wearable goggles inscribed with a “V.”

Hoping to separate its site from "virtual plush" communities, representatives for forthcoming street racing virtual Revnjenz have added a new twist for its registration requirements - kids will need to first purchase a "collectible" driver's license card from participating retailers to receive a code for registering a Revnjenz account.

Once users enter their driver's license code, they'll create a virtual version of the vehicle pictured on the cars, enabling them to play games, chat with friends, participate in races, and earn BoostBucks, the virtual world's in-game currency. Revnjenz targets the 'tween demographic, boasting content tailored for both boys and girls, such as car modifications and accessories available to purchase with BoostBucks.

The company behind Revnjenz is currently inviting retailers to put in pre-orders for the driver's license cards, promising their delivery for late summer to early fall 2008.

Think tank Virtual Policy Network intends to hold a two-day event titled Virtual Policy ‘08: A conference on innovation and governance in virtual worlds. The conference aims to define the virtual policy agenda for UK and Europe.

Scheduled for July 22-23 at the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform’s conference center in London, Virtual Policy ’08 will bring together industry veterans, policy makers, and academics to discuss the public policy implications of virtual worlds from a European perspective.

Key themes which will be examined at the event include intellectual property rights, financial transactions, governance frameworks, issues regarding kids in online spaces, and new models and tools for learning in virtual worlds. The conference will also cover innovations in brand promotion, virtual meetings, and online learning.

Designing Virtual Worlds author and University of Essex professor Richard Bartle will deliver a conference keynote, as will Technology Intelligence Group CEO Christian Renaud. CCP's (EVE Online) Eyjolfur Gudmundsson, Linden Lab's (Second Life) Dr. Jim Purbrick, and Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's Leigh Jackson will also be speaking at Virtual Policy ’08.

Said Virtual Policy Network founder Ren Reynolds: "This is the ideal time for a mature debate about the relationship between public policy and virtual worlds. Virtual Worlds are not new, having been invented in the UK almost 30 years ago, but today’s scale of use is unprecedented. With figures such as Habbo Hotel’s 90 million registered users and World of Warcraft establishes itself as a pastime for millions people around the world - virtual worlds are forcing themselves onto the policy agenda. This unique event will focus on the whole range of policy implications of this fascinating and rich global cultural phenomena .”

Australia-based middleware developer BigWorld Technology has upgraded its MMO technology suite, which includes BigWorld Server Software, Content Creation Pipeline, 3D Client Engine Package, and Live Management Tools & Instrumentation, to version 1.9.

The update contains new features such as an advanced terrain engine that enables support for unlimited texture layers, higher level of detail, and configurable height/shadow/normal/texture map resolution. In addition, the suite includes optimizations and improvements to patrol paths, web integration, skybox and weather systems, and its support for SpeedTree and Umbra partner technologies.

BigWorld Technology 1.9 also comes with support for Perforce, SVN, and CVS control systems. Both Mandarin and English languages are supported in the development tools user interface and art pipeline

The company's current MMO and virtual world licensing partners include Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, which is currently developing MMORPG Stargate Worlds, and 38 Studios and Sierra Online, which are both working on unannounced online PC titles.

Said BigWorld CTO Simon Hayes, "BigWorld customers and developers currently evaluating the technology are very excited by this release as it enables them to implement some pretty amazing scenery in their games that would otherwise be difficult to achieve."

[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.]

Kingdom of Loathing is the latest online game we're looking at as part of our Online World Atlas, and it's pretty unusual, because most of the time is spent in a single player RPG. However, this browser-based title has MMO aspects -- in-game chat, player stores and clans, for example – and we conclude our findings on its strengths and weaknesses after the jump.

Electronic Arts has announced that it will bring MySims, which was originally released for the Wii and Nintendo DS in September 2007 and has sold 2.8 million copies worldwide, to the PC in October 2008. The new edition will add new characters, items, and online features.

Based on Maxis' The Sims franchise, MySims enables users to personalize their in-game character, build relationships with their neighbors, and design homes, shops, restaurants, and more.

The PC edition will feature “shared online game spaces” in which up to eight users can populate the same online neighborhood. Players can chat, play games, construct buildings together, and share their creations with each other. In addition, players can send their creations to each other through email or instant messages.

Electronic Arts also plans to release a follow-up for the spin-off series this fall titled MySims Kingdom. Planned as a Wii and Nintendo DS exclusive, the sequel will challenge users to revitalize the fantasy kingdom of King Roland.

Said The Sims Label studio head Rob Humble: "MySims, made for the PC, opens up the world of MySims for you to explore, play and share with up to seven other friends that are online with you. For the first time, you can express the creativity of MySims with others in a collaborative way, as you create and live in a shared town with your friends online.”

He continued: “With MySims, made for the PC, it's a whole new world of interaction with personalized creations, buildings and towns to share, along with furniture and other tailored creations that you and your friends can trade. Players who enjoyed MySims on the Wii and Nintendo DS will view this as a great way to connect with friends in an online PC game and those new to MySims will find this a fresh and exciting game."

The Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology will receive a $500,000 grant from the New Zealand government's Encouraging and Supporting Innovation fund for a new project exploring the potential of virtual worlds as an educational platform, according to a report from daily newspaper The Nelson Mail.

NMIT will be conducting its research through Second Life, where the polytechnic has maintained a presence for 18 months. The organization purchased an island in the virtual world last year, christening it Koru and renting out the land to five other polytechnics and Massey University.

Though NMIT will be leading the project, Otago Polytechnic, the Wellington Institute of Technology, and the Open Polytechnic will make contributions as partners. IBM will also provide support and advice as the groups study the educational possibilities for audio and visual interactive presentations.

Speaking on whether virtual worlds can offer value to education, NMIT information technology tutor Dr Clare Atkins predicted, "We believe that they do, even though it's early days and no one knows how to use it best. It's a brave new world ... The big part really is identifying the teaching methods that are likely to be most suitable to Second Life."

Shanghai-based online game operator The9 Limited has announced an agreement with Korean online game developer T3 Entertainment (Audition series) to establish a joint venture, further strengthening their game development and publishing partnerships.

The9 manages the operation and distribution for several popular MMORPG titles, including Ragnarok Online 2 and World of Warcraft and its expansions, in mainland China. Previously, The9 revealed that it had acquired a minority stake in T3 parent company G10 Entertainment with a cash investment of approximately $38 million. The company has also licensed the rights to operate Audition 2 in mainland China.

In addition to supporting the development of T3's Audition series, the joint venture will develop online games targeting international markets in the near future.

Commented The9 chairman and CEO Jun Zhu: "We are very pleased to further partner with T3 to strengthen The9's game development capability, especially on casual games, to a new level. Through the joint venture, The9 will be more proactively involved in the development of Audition 2 as well as other games in the Audition game series. The joint venture will also facilitate tighter cooperation and communication between the two companies, adding customized and healthy China-specific colors to the games we're developing."

T3 CEO Kee-Young Kim added: "We are much excited to set up the joint venture with The9, which is already an important partner and strategic investor for our company. The joint venture will focus on developing top-notched and fine-tuned games for the Chinese market, and we believe it will prove to be a very strong alliance between the two companies whose resources and strengths well complement each other."

Speaking with Silicon Valley newspaper the San Jose Mercury News, Hewlett Packard's Innovation Program Office head and Personal Systems Group CTO/VP, Philip McKinney, predicted that Second Life-like communities will eventually be as common for workplaces as it is for recreational use.

He noted one specific advantage virtual business meetings have over other forms of distance collaboration: "You can schedule a meeting on a particular topic, but you miss out on casual conversation. That's a role Second Life can play. Some companies are using it as a virtual water cooler."

McKinney adds that as companies begin to use online as a business tool, the virtual worlds will need to gain legal status: "If I get in a virtual collaboration with somebody in another country and we invent something, what creates the basis for ownership? If there becomes a dispute, where do you take that dispute? That's going to have to be addressed."

Also, on the topic of the "gray wave," or consumers aged over 55 years old, McKinney stressed that an important opportunity exists in adapting conferencing technologies for older markets: "Everybody is out there chasing the 18- to 25-year-olds. The problem is the 18-25 market segment is shrinking by 6.5 percent a year. Over 55 is growing 8 percent a year. Fifty percent of all disposable income is in the 55-and-older category. So it's not a bad category to be thinking about."

[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.]

We recently looked at Build-A-Bearville, and this week we look at one of the most established kids brand's foray into the MMO space, Barbie Girls from Mattel. According to Mattel this browser-based MMO has a huge userbase (over 13 million registered users) and recently launched a subscription V.I.P. service, so we thought we'd check it out.

Name: Barbie Girls

Company: Mattel

Established: April 2007

How it Works: Barbie Girls is experienced on the web through html and Flash. It requires no installation and navigation and gameplay are accomplished via mouse and keyboard input.

Overview: In Barbie Girls, players create an avatar, design their room and can then explore a virtual world where they can ean "B Bucks" play games, watch videos and chat with other girls in a safe environment.

Payment Method: Barbie Girls is free to play, but offers a V.I.P. subscription package starting at $5.99 a month, which allows users access to a larger world, the ability to own pets, and more. Access is also expanded for players who own Barbie Girl MP3 players.

Key Features:
- Girl-orientated virtual world attached to a popular established brand
- Customizable avatar and home, with clothes and items to buy
- Safe environment with several levels of moderated chat (B Chat, Secret B Chat, and Super B Chat)
- World is extended for users who purchase Barbie Girl MP3 players or subscription packages.

Useful Links:
Barbie.com

Website syndication provider Conduit and virtual world Habbo have released the Conduit-powered Habbo community toolbar, a new browser tool for delivering community features to Habbo's users.

Built on the Conduit Website Syndication Platform, the toolbar enables Habbo users to see their friends, messages, and community news from anywhere online. The customizable tool also accomomodates a variety of applications for accessing chat, forums, feeds, and My Habbo homepages.

Teemu Huuhtanen, Habbo EVP of business and president, North America, said, "Habbo's teens are invested in our virtual world --they interact, play games and develop self-expression here, but they also want to know what is happening when they are not in their Habbo community. Thanks to Conduit's technology, the Habbo community toolbar allows Habbos to stay connected in many ways. The functionality lets members see their friends, messages and Habbo news from anywhere online: It's a constant reminder of the community that's waiting for them, and therefore encourages them to keep coming back."

Conduit CEO Ronen Shilo commented: "Habbo knows that their members want to be active in their virtual lives every day and so they have made it even easier for them to get there. The secret for capturing the attention of the discerning and tech-savvy audience? Delivering personalized content, services, and cool technologies in one, convenient location that suits their Internet lifestyles."

3DXplorer developer Altadyn has announced the appointment of Greg Milliken as its vice president of marketing. His primary duties include increasing market awareness and adoption of 3DXplorer following Altadyn's release of the web3D platform's V3 beta in January.

Previous to Altadyn, Milliken served as CEO of 3D CAD software developer Alibre, Inc. Prior to that, he was vice president of marketing at Knowledge Revolution, a developer of mechanical motion simulation software eventually acquired by MSC Software.

Billed as "the only plug-in-less, browser-based web3D platform for building and visiting 3D virtual worlds, web sites, and web applications," 3DXplorer enables users to view 3D environments almost immediately on all major platforms and browsers without having to install and client software or plug-ins. The platform is free of charge for development, authoring, and display (on small or mid-size websites).

Said Altadyn CEO Darius Lahoutifard: "We are pleased to welcome Greg to the Altadyn team. Greg's wealth of experience and past successes in a variety of 3D technology businesses, as well as his background leading marketing in emerging technology companies, will complement our current team and help us achieve our goal of establishing 3DXplorer as the leading web3D platform."

One to One Interactive research arm OTOinsights has released a report entitled
"Serious Games for Marketing: Learnings from Corporate and Amateur Efforts in Second Life," a free-to-download study comparing Second Life's ten most popular user-created sites with the ten most popular corporate branded locations.

In its study, the firm noted that overall, the top user-generated sites are more popular than the top corporate sites in Second Life. "Perhaps the explanation for this disparity is that corporate sites offer different content or experiences than user-generated sites, and builders of user-generated sites are more effective at offering the content users want. Or perhaps the corporate sites offer similar content, and the reason is that Second Life users are simply resisting corporate influence as a part of their hipster ethos. "

In the report, OTOinsights provides five insights for building future branding- and marketing-oriented sites based on its analysis:

1. Invest less in production quality and more in social interaction design.
2. Avoid virtual suburban sprawl and encourage people to gather.
3. Offer robust, high-quality shopping at multiple price points.
4. Promote builds by advertising events across in-world and out-of-world media channels.
5. Offer regular, hosted social events to drive and maintain traffic.

Said One to One Interactive president and co-founder Jeremi Karnell: "OTOinsight's t=zero initiative is an industry-academic collaborative research project between One to One Interactive and Indiana University's School of Informatics. Our objective is to determine useful measures of user engagement and experience with digital and social media. Our first publication, focused on Serious Games for Marketing, is meant to take a step back and objectively evaluate what worked and did not work in the rush to establish early footholds in Virtual World spaces. Our hope is that these findings will help guide future efforts as we see new entrants and innovations in that space."

Animated avatar site Meez has teamed up with Flash games broker FlashGameLicense to present a contest inviting Flash developers worldwide to compete for $20,000 worth of prizes by creating games using the Meez Inside Avatar API.

Launched in February, the Meez Inside Avatar API allows developers to create Flash games which can be hosted anywhere online and which enable users to import their customized 3D Meez avatars. Meez and FGL plan to run the contest from July 8 to September 8. Entries will be judged on their ability to integreate avatars with creativity, addictiveness, sound, graphics. and polish.

The grand prize winner will receive $10,000, while the second and third place winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. Five Honorable Mention winners will be rewarded $1,000 each.

This competition follows Meez's mid-June launch of Meeznation, a new virtual world built specifically for its custom avatars. The new space accompanies Meez's virtual rooms application released for Facebook earlier this year.

Said Meez CEO Sean Ryan: “Gaming is a big draw for the Meez community, and we know that our personalized games are always the most popular ones. We’re pleased to be partnering with FlashGameLicense on this contest and excited to see what results from harnessing the creativity of the Flash game developer community to provide a personalized game experience for a wide range of gamers, not just those on Meez.”

Rocketon is a new online avatar service currently in closed alpha, which intends to allow users the ability to treat the web as "a parallel virtual world" with each site an interactive destination on which users can meet, socialize and play.

Founded by Steve Hoffman (CEO) Eric Hayashi (VP Marketing & Business Development), and Naomi Kokubo (COO), Rocketon is based in San Francisco with 15 employees and a studio in the Ukraine, and we talked to Hayashi andHoffman about the service, how it works, and its place in the market.

So what's the point of Rocketon?

Eric Hayashi: Rocketon transforms browsing into a social experience -- individual sites can be lively virtual destinations that players can explore and interact with. Imagine every single website as its own virtual world that is interconnected with other virtual worlds, where people can jump from one to another with the click of a button. ESPN.com will become a sports-themed virtual world, MTV.com a youth-oriented virtual space and GAP.com a virtual clothing store.

Internet giant Google has announced Google Lively, a browser-based online world which is embedded in major social networks such as Facebook, and has been speaking to Gamasutra about the surprising announcement.

As the Lively help center explains of the application: "You're about to embark on a chat experience in which you can communicate and express yourself using avatars in your very own space. Choose an avatar and use it to make friends and chat. Create rooms, decorate them to your liking, and make sure to invite your friends over."

Speaking to Gamasutra ahead of the announcement, Google's Mel Guymon, head of 3D operations for the company, explained that the project has been in development for over two and a half years, and that the goal was to create a "true persistent space" for social network users.

He suggested the application, which runs in a webpage plugin using elements of Emergent's Gamebryo game engine, could be compared to existing applications such as Second Life and Scenecaster, but does several things differently.

The application is closely integrated with social networks including Facebook and the OpenSocial standard, with a MySpace integration coming soon - Guymon explained that "...what we've done is got back end connectors that allow us to work directly with Facebook".

This means that, if a lively user is signed into Facebook, you don't have to sign in to Google to use the application, which is an approximately 10 megabyte download, and works with a PC that has either Windows XP and Vista installed.

Essentially, each person using the plugin will have their own avatar and virtual room which they can design and their friends can visit and chat in. According to Google's Guymon, people can leave you notes and add things to your room, and all of the rooms are connected.

Thus, you can click around within the plugin window and visit your friend's rooms, without leaving the webpage you were currently on - essentially creating a "continuous virtual world" to browse around.

The company has posted a trailer for the service on its official Google YouTube feed, as follows:

Detailing the project further, Guymon revealed to Gamasutra that the project had been in development for at least two and a half years, and that it constituted a "huge investment on the content side", with a number of in-house employees and more than 200 contractors helping to create the "couple of hundred thousand items" that make up the Lively object catalog.

Interestingly, monetization for the service has not yet been revealed - right now, all of the in-world objects are free, and Guymon said that the goal "is to get as many people using [Lively] as possible."

He noted that there were a lot of other products in this space, but "what's going to stand out for us is that the aesthetic bar is very high." A team headed by Jeff Matsuda, formerly at Warner Bros and the Batman cartoon series, worked on the aesthetic look from Google's Irvine office.

Guymon's closing thoughts? He believes that "Google is uniquely poised to validate this space for the mass market... this is not for geeks - this is for everyone."

Responding to Google's launch of its new virtual world, Lively, avatar and 3D virtual spaces platform IMVU's president and CEO Cary Rosenzwieg commented that while the search giant will likely find success quickly due to its resources and ability to leverage of "billions of visitors," the virtual spaces category is big enough for both platforms to thrive.

He went on to draw comparisons between the two services: "The core of Lively content are: avatars, rooms and catalog. This is true for IMVU as well, though IMVU offers home pages, groups, forums and more. In particular, Lively chose the IMVU-like metaphor of the virtual "room" instead of a sprawling virtual world. So, people might start thinking of the virtual world space with IMVU and Lively at one end, focusing on avatars and rooms, versus Second Life and others with large tracts of virtual land."

The CEO then noted that the similarities between IMVU and Lively are predictable considering that Lively's head of 3D, Mel Guymon, was one of IMVU's five co-founders. According to Rosenzwieg, Google offered to buy IMVU in October 2005, right about when development on Lively started. All of the co-founders rejected the offer except for Guymon, who later left the company to work at Google.

Established four years ago, IMVU did not come out of stealth mode until just a few weeks ago, announcing that it had reached over 20 million registered users and that it now offers 1.7 million items in its virtual goods catalog. 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.

Google's backing of Lively represents serious competition for IMVU, however: "Google is rich and powerful. As an Intuit veteran, I have first-hand experience in this kind of battle. At Intuit, we fought off waves of product attacks by Microsoft against Quicken, TurboTax and QuickBooks. We always won because we were fanatically devoted to consumers, and so our products were simply better. In this case, Google is formidable. They are likely to be extremely successful quickly because they are rich and can leverage seemingly billions of visitors. The category will be big enough for both of us to succeed."

Rosenzwieg concluded, "We believe in giving our customers lots of choices. We assume with Google's power, Lively should catch up with IMVU soon."

Virtual worlds ad agency Millions of Us and immersive spaces company Rivers Run Red have both announced that they are participants in Google's Preferred Developer Program for the search giant's recently revealed Lively virtual world.

Lively by Google is a product that lets people create and share persistent, virtual spaces on the web. As a lightweight application fully integrated with the web, Lively rooms can be embedded on websites and blogs all over the web with just a snippet of code. Lively users can also stream their own content, such as videos and photos, directly into their rooms.

In Lively, users can create, customize, and share persistent spaces, embedding them onto websites, social networks, and blogs with a snippet of code.

Millions of Us has partnered with the National Geographic Channel to deliver branded content for the network's L.A. Hard Hats series. The television show follows the development and construction of EVO, a 23-story eco-friendly high rise structure, from the perspective of several tradesmen.

As part of its agreement, Millions of Us will set up a virtual building in Lively's National Geographic center. The skyscraper will be under intense construction and will evolve with the TV series' episodes. Visitors can explore the building, its features, and the complex work required to build the tower.

Said Millions of Us vice president of business development Ted Tagami: "Facilitating NGC's entry as the first brand in Lively by Google is a landmark achievement for our company, and our objective going forward is to help seamlessly integrate additional brands into this very promising online space. Through customized 3D online spaces and avatar-based socialization, our clients will benefit from the earliest possible access to our rooms built in Lively by Google."

Rivers Run Red wasn't specific about what branded content it will be providing for Lively, but the company states that it has a new design team in place to meet the high level of demand for companies looking to incorporate the new virtual world into their digital strategies. So far, the team has created a demo 3D space in Lively called "Avalon" for visitors to explore.

Said Rivers Run Red CEO Justin Bovington: “In the last five years, we have encountered high demand from companies looking to provide 3D experiences for their communities on the web. Lively by Google is a promising solution for web-based 3D environments and will only help to make the prospect of the 3D Web a reality.”

Cartoon Network New Media, cable television channel Cartoon Network's online publishing division, has teamed up with Crisp Thinking to integrate the online child protection services provider's NetModerator system into its upcoming MMOG, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall.

Developed by Seoul, Korea-based studio Grigon Entertainment, FusionFall features a multitude of characters from Cartoon Network shows, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Dexter's Laboratory, and Ben 10. The MMOG has been designed primarily for kids aged 8-14 years old and is scheduled to launch in fall 2008.

Safety features built into the game include moderated character names, parental approval required for "open chat," chat filtering and monitoring, and forum filtering and monitoring. FusionFall will be the world's first MMOG to bear Crisp Certification, a standard indicating to parents that their children are being protected with Crisp Thinking's child safety measures.

Said Crisp Thinking CEO Andrew Lintell: "By making Crisp's NetModerator an integral part of FusionFall, Cartoon Network has become the industry leader in ensuring children can enjoy the excitement and entertainment of online worlds. Parents can rest easy when their children are playing FusionFall because Crisp's NetModerator is active in the game."

3D virtual community Worlds has announced an agreement with hip hop pioneer Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels to develop and host a 3D virtual community named DMC World.

Launched in 1994, Worlds enables users to create avatars and navigate through virtual worlds as well as build their own worlds on a P2P network. The company is ramping up to release an updated version of its 3D platform with a new rendering engine and micro-economy platform.

Worlds CEO Thom Kidrin hopes to open up 3D virtual communities to a new market of rap fans with the partnership. He believes that drawing and maintaining an online community won't be tricky at all with D.M.C.'s "street cred" and creative vision for developing the 3D world.

McDaniels, who also goes by D.M.C. (Devastating Mic Controller) in seminal hip-hop group Run-D.M.C., added: "We broke new ground with Run-D.M.C., and I continually look to get involved with new concepts in entertainment. Virtual worlds are on the forefront of social media and entertainment, so my friends - I consider all my fans 'friends' - should be able to experience 'everything D.M.C.' in the most innovative immersive 3D virtual environment available."

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 highlighting 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.

- Areae.net (Sand Diego, CA)
Flex Developer and Senior 3D Client Engineer
("Areae is on a mission to revolutionize virtual worlds and MMOs. We are a venture-backed company in beautiful San Diego, and our investors share our passion and vision for the future of online gaming. Our core team includes veteran MMO developers with deep experience from online leaders like EA, Sony Online, and NC Soft, and we have developed and launched some of the world's most successful online games to date including Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and EQ2.")

- Carbine (Aliso Viejo, CA)
Sr. Systems Programmer
("Carbine Studios is looking for talented individuals to be a part of a team focused on making high-quality, cutting-edge, and conceptually innovative Massively Multiplayer Games. We offer