Editor’s Introduction

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research on the theme of “Virtual Worlds Research: Past, Present and Future”. The launch of the Journal and the publication of this first edition builds on the efforts of a large team of researchers and collaborators spread across the world. We have a fantastic collection of articles that provide the foundation for the transdisciplinary field of virtual worlds research. I would like to take a moment to thank all of the individuals who have contributed to the foundation of the Journal, either directly or indirectly: Axel Bruns, Allucquere Rosanne ‘Sandy’ Stone, Joseph Straubhaar, Joseph Lopez, Drake Wilson, Brandon Wiley, Nancy Baym, Edward Castronova, James Gee, Steve Jones, Jorge Peña, Kathleen Tyner, Natalie Wood, Andrea Muñoz, Roque Planas, Jackie Zahn, Josiah Spence, Elena Zoubanova de Jesus, Gilok Choi, Mark Bell, Sun Sun Lim, Suely Fragoso, Joe Sanchez, Amanda Salomon, Henry Segerman, Yesha Y. Sivan, Stephanie Smith, Caja Thimm, Robert Shephard, and many others.