ABSTRACT
A Night Elf, a Dwarf, and a Human attack a ravenous beast in World of Warcraft; in Anarchy Online, new players gather together to fi ght off a powerful monster that has wandered over to the Newbie Island. Over in Second Life, a famous avatar singer performs in front of a group of adoring fans and friends who are working together to create a lively and interactive concert. Although this is only a tiny sampling of events that occur daily within the many virtual worlds available, by showcasing only a few aspects of their social and communal dynamics, one can see a major similarity across all examples: dynamics of teamwork. None of the activities described above could easily, if at all, be completed by a solo participant and instead require participants to band together to achieve the desired goal. Despite diff erent virtual spaces having a diff erent focus, the formation of communities of teamwork (both temporary and permanent) happens almost identically across the spectrum of worlds, varying often only in subject matter.
