Definition of a Virtual World
People have been trying to create an exact definition of a virtual world since their inception in the 1970s. By combining pieces of partial definitions of virtual worlds, the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research defines a virtual world as "A synchronous, persistent network of people, represented as avatars, facilitated by networked computers."
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A network of people
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Participants in a virtual world must be able to interact and communicate with each other. Even if a user chooses not to communicate, their actions in the environment must have an effect on the world for everyone else.
A persistent world
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A virtual world must continue to exist even after a participant has left. This lets the virtual world differ from other computer generated environments in that the user is not the center of the world, but a member of a larger community.
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Synchronous communication
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All actions and communication in a virtual world must happen in real time. All actions that affect the environment must do so equally for all participants, creating a sense of space.
Digital representations
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All participants in a virtual world must have digital representations, or avatars, that actually perform the actions as directed by the user. These representations may be graphical or textual, as long as all interaction with the virtual world are done through them.
Created in a computer network
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The persistence and complexity of a virtual world necessitates the use of a computer network to control the world. The environment must be interactive and even small changes must remain persistent, so it would be impossible to operate a virtual world without the use of computers.
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References
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