Avatars: Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

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Amazon.com Review
This book provides a guided tour of avatars--graphical representations (a smiley face, cartoon character, or even a photograph of yourself) of online chat participants that are set in a virtual space against landscapes ranging from the real to the surreal. The CD-ROM that is included with Avatars! is an integral part of the experience. As the book tells you about avatars and shows you the virtual worlds where your avatar can play on your behalf, the CD contains software that enables you to design your avatar and go to the virtual world of your choice. The book leads you to some virtual worlds where you can drop in and chat and takes you to others where you can join other participants in actually building the world and creating an ever-changing environment. The book and CD-ROM take you to eight virtual world systems: Worlds Chat Space Station, The Palace, AlphaWorld, WorldsAway, OnLine! Traveler, Virtual Places, Comic Chat, and Oz Virtual. Damer describes both the technical features and culture of each virtual world. He also shows you how to interact and describes the types of interactions you can expect to take place. The recurring segment "Digi's Diary" puts general thoughts about online interaction in the virtual mouth of Damer's own avatar, DigiGardener. He covers such topics as "avaddiction," dealing with avatars that some might find offensive, and the sort of amusing and not-so-amusing things that can happen when virtual and real worlds collide. After the tour, Damer discusses possible futures for virtual worlds and guides you toward creating a virtual world of your own.

Product Description
Avatars! is the only book of its kind. Avatars! focuses on what people do inside these virtual worlds, such as building three-dimensional structures, navigating through the worlds, and learning digital etiquette and social interaction skills. A CD-ROM provides readers with ready-to-run worlds that connect them with thousands of other people on the Internet and which are referenced in a companion web site that serves to keep virtual explorers abreast of the latest happenings in the various worlds.

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