Each week, 35 to 50 million people worldwide abandon reality for virtual worlds. They create a virtual body, work virtual jobs, and make virtual friends and family. And, as online communities like SecondLife, EverQuest, and MySpace attract more members, the lines between the real and the imaginary become blurry. After all, in these virtual realities, you can create a new self, build houses, make and sell works of art, earn real money, and get married and divorced. On web sites like eBay, people sell virtual clothes and rent virtual property for real cash--for a total of nearly $800 million worth each year.
This book explores the people, economies, and cultures of the dynamic online worlds which are challenging the very notion of "real."