ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the 21st century’s second decade, the study of virtual worlds stands at a fascinating crossroads. Not only are the number of virtual worlds expanding at a dizzying pace; ‘genres’ of virtual worlds continue to expand as well. This runs the gamut from those organized as games to those set up for training or education. Perhaps the most crucial area for continuing virtual worlds research involves forms of imbrication and distinction between virtual worlds and the physical world. The foundational feature of virtual worlds is that they are places. Because a place can in theory be inhabited by a single person, there is no definitional barrier to the existence of virtual worlds with a sole inhabitant. The fact that virtual worlds are places means that they can be construed not just in terms of globalized online networks, but in terms of localities and even partially as nation-states.
