Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

According to Google, "a virtual world or massively multiplayer online world (MMOW) is a computer-based simulated environment populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities and communicate with others".

Virtual worlds are known to be primarily used for game purposes, where characters are created along with neighborhoods and scenarios on how they interact in a falsely created world.  A perfect example of how a virtual creator captured and contained a memory of the Hotel Chelsea in New York City is remarkable for those who live there after the hotel went through a major renovation.  You can read this article on: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/thecity/03virt.html.

Virtual worlds can be used for multitudes of reasons.  Education, Science and medicine, government military, real estate and animations are just some ways in which virtual worlds can be used.  An article titled 'Naughty Auties' on CNN's website shows us that virtual reality has allowed for some affected by autism to be able to sit comfortably behind a computer in their own space allows them  the comfort of communicating with others about the condition and allows for them to be themselves.   It also for them to get answers to questions some may have about the illness.  You can read the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText .

Most of the fields listed have already been already been using virtual worlds to ease their work for some time now.  When a student can log into a program and see what a planet may look like or a doctor can view and study an organ prior to surgery, etc. those are ways that they are using virtual worlds.

According to Karolina, G on http://karolinagper9ra.weebly.com/advantages-and-disadvantages.html, some advantages and disadvantages to virtual worlds are as listed:

Pros:

• Socializing
• Education
• Political Expression
• Military Training

Cons: 

• The cost of hardware (it is still so expensive)
• Training on how to use it 
• Escaping the real world 

With virtual worlds you can create anything that comes to mind, from people, cars, buildings, animals, planets, and the list can continue. In the future, I imagine learning institutes using more virtual worlds to teach students in the younger years as well higher education.  As I've previously stated many institutes, architects and science institutes have already begun using virtual worlds to create situations that can be manipulated in order to get answers to questions they have or to create new buildings for our world.  It will only improve and become more available and affordable to the public in time, look at cell phones and computers.