Virtual Worlds: New Means of Communication Date:   Wednesday , September 21, 2011 India being a gigantic IT services outsourcing player there is a huge opportunity and the need for more efficient way of communication. Since collaboration is the new way of doing business in this segment, social virtual worlds would be the best suitable means of communication for India. To define what is a virtual world, it is a particular subset of massively multiplayer online spaces that focus on social interaction rather than traditional gaming activities. Though the collaboration capabilities of virtual worlds are more widely in use, the 3D modeling and conceptual research capabilities of virtual worlds are highly underutilized. This will definitely see a great increase in use in the coming days for industry as well as educational purposes. The whole concept, started as a means to collaborate, socialize and build upon ideas, is shaping into a new age of Internet. They offer almost everything that the Internet offers, be it information about various topics, chatting an opportunity to showcase your products, a selling platform or even an online education center. What makes virtual worlds unique is the three dimensional effect. You do not have to scroll over pages inside the virtual world; you instead fly or walk around it. Imagine having a business meeting or a classroom session in a game-like environment. Virtual world is still catching up though it has few limitations. As of now second life and other existing virtual world applications are very cumbersome to use especially for communication, as the users don't feel intruded to use the stuff. The interface has to be designed more user friendly and all these limitations has opened up whole new area to do a research.