Virtual Worlds for Collaborative Meetings

Whether businesses will make use of virtual worlds for meetings, training, and events is not just an academic question. Use of existing and newly developed virtual worlds is expected to grow for the near future among all age groups. International companies are entering a variety of virtual worlds to promote collaboration among their geographically dispersed workforce for training and meetings, as well as for business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications with internal and external audiences. These worlds provide engaging experiences that are enjoyable and memorable. This chapter addresses opportunities and challenges in conducting meetings in virtual worlds. It covers the evolution of technology for virtual meetings, a theoretical analysis of telepresence in virtual meetings, case studies of companies utilizing virtual worlds as meeting venues, and practical considerations for conducting virtual meetings and events.