Virtual World 2007 Conference Blog

Show Wrap Up

1,100 people who attended the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo. Media Coverage has been fantastic, with reporting from around the globe.  All conference sessions are available for purchase here in MP3 file format delivered to you on CD-ROM.  We are busily working on the 2008 calendar year.  If you want to be involved in some way please do contact us at http://www.VirtualWorldsManagement.com . 

If you would like to engage others in the industry in conversation now we invite you to join Virtual Worlds Connect where over 700 professionals from around the world are already participating in discussions online.  And finally of course we keep track of all industry happening at VirtualWorldsNews.com.

Don't forget - sign up for our email updates to know when the next show takes place.

With that we sign off and will keep an eye out for you on VirtualWorldsNews and Virtual Worlds Connect. 

MP3 Recording of Anthony Zuicker's Keynote Now Available

The MP3 recording of Anthony E. Zuiker's keynote at the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo (VWCE) is now available for free download. Zuiker is of course the Creator of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. CSI: NY this week will feature a killer escaping into Second Life - details behind this in his keynote.  This recording also includes the conference intro by Virtual Worlds Management's Chris Sherman and a state of the industry by The Electric Sheep Company's Sibley Verbeck. All conference sessions are available for purchase here in MP3 file format delivered to you on CD-ROM. The recordings are professional, unedited, live recordings that are guaranteed for life.  >> Anthony E. Zuiker's keynote MP3 <<

Anonymous Generosity Leads to Exhibit Hall Pass Availability

Through the generosity of an anonymous contributor, a limited number of Exhibit Hall Only Passes have been established for the upcoming Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo.  Exhibit Hall Passes are $195 if ordered online prior to Oct. 9th, 9pm pacific time ($250 onsite). Exhibit Hall Passes provide full access to the Expo only for two days. Exhibit Hall Pass registrants can also attend the fireside chat with Paul Yanover, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Disney Online. Expo Hall Passes provide no conference access, no keynote access, no lunch or party access.

Additionally, Full Conference Registration will also remain open online until Oct. 9th, 9pm pacific time.

More than 1,000 people have already registered to attend the conference next week.

Online Registration closes today for the Show

Today is the last day to register in advance for the Show.  The rate is still only $795.  After today registration will only be available onsite, at the show, on October 10-11, 2007 and the rate is $995.

$1 Billion Invested in Virtual Worlds in the Last Year

$1 billion has been invested in 35 virtual worlds companies since last October, according to our recently completed research.  $196.8 Million was invested in 33 companies, with leadership from Redpoint Ventures, Charles River Ventures, Intel, and Rustic Canyon Partners. The rest of the money comes from two major deals: Disney's $700 million purchase of Club Penguin and Intel's recent $110 million acquisition of Havok, the 3D graphics provider that provides the physics inside of Second Life. For a complete chart of the investments across all the companies, view the chart here. The investment numbers and the future of the industry will be discussed in depth at the conference.   

One Week Left to Register Online

There's only one week left to register for the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo.  Online registration (still only $795) ends Friday, October 5th, 2007.  After that time registration will only be available onsite (for $995) at the show.

Show highlights include:

- 30 virtual worlds platform companies represented at the show
- 6 conference tracks -  1) business 2) entertainment/media 3) design 4) enterprise 5) community 6)
  technology
- 100 featured speakers from media, entertainment, IT and virtual worlds
   - Hear from major media companies:  Disney, Turner, MTV, Dreamworks, etc...
   - Hear from major corporations:  Intel, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, etc...
- 23 companies exhibiting in Virtual Worlds Expo Hall
- Chinese Government will discuss a new country-wide Virtual Worlds initiative for the first time
- Keynote from Christian Renaud, Chief Architect, Networked Virtual Environments, Cisco Technology Center
- Keynote from Anthony E. Zuiker, Creator of the television franchise CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
- Fireside chat with Paul Yanover Executive Vice President & Managing Director Disney Online

Print Version of Schedule At A Glance Available

Print version of the Conference Schedule at a glance is now available.  http://www.virtualworlds2007.com/schedule/vw_conference_expo_schedule.pdf (200k)

23 Exhibitors Announced

VirtualWorldsNews.com is pleased to share the inaugural exhibitors for our upcoming Virtual Worlds Expo (taking place along side the Virtual Worlds Conference of course).  23 leading technology and service companies in the virtual worlds space are exhibiting, showcasing exciting new technologies and services that will drive the growth of virtual worlds adoption.  Expect a number of major announcements a the show. Floorplan is now online here. A number of other companies are sponsoring in various ways. Exhibitors with their booth numbers are pasted below for quick reference.

booth #  Exhibitor

216 ActiveWorlds
215 Avatar Island
213 Daz 3D
405 e frontier
409 Forterra Systems Inc.
113 IBM
300 Icarus Studios
101 Makena Technologies
407 Metaversatility
105 Millions of Us
312 Multiverse
413 Parature
317 Planet 9 Studios
313 Proton Media, LLC
417 SDForum
401 Second Life News Network
415 Skill Gaming Technologies
412 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
416 TAATU
109 The Electric Sheep Company
214 The Wishfarmers
403 View22 Technology, Inc.
117 VT&T

Chinese Government To Present Virtual World Infrastructure Plans

The China government is establishing a countrywide infrastructure for virtual worlds deployment. The effort is being lead by China Recreation District (CRD), a joint government-private partnership based in Beijing. One of the goals is to make it easier for all of the possible international virtual world entities to come into China.  We are pleased to announce that Chi Tai Robert Lai, Chief Scientist with the Beijing China Recreation District will present details on this new infrastructure on October 11, 2007 at the upcoming Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in San Jose, CA. "This is a new national approach," Lai said regarding presentation. "We would like to invite all of companies interested in virtual worlds in China to join this infrastructure." In the presentation, CRD will explain the policy, how they are building a national virtual infrastructure, how to integrate industries/enterprises by virtual+real world infrastructure, status of the project and existing plan and partners. Lai presents Thursday, October 11th from 4:30pm - 5:30pm in the Virtual Worlds For the Enterprise track at the conference.

Session Preview: Combating IP Theft in Virtual Worlds: A look at ERO, LLC's Landmark Avatar Lawsuit

Kevin Alderman (aka Stroker Serpentine in Second Life) will be presenting a case study focused on Combating IP Theft in Virtual Worlds at the Virtual Worlds Conference. In July of 2007, Alderman filed a landmark suit in the the 13th District Federal Court. His complaint tests the boundaries of infringement and prosecution of intellectual property theft as it relates to virtual worlds. Alderman, with the support of Francis Taney of Buchanan, Ingersol and Rooney, used the template forged by Sony and the RIAA (Recording Industry Artists Association) to ferret the identity of an anonymous avatar on the Second Life platform. Alderman's case is unique in that his product is a virtual recreation of tangible object. He will be speaking at the Virtual Worlds Conference Wednesday Oct. 10, 4:00pm - 5:00pm in the Entertainment and Marketing Track.