Korea Sees 50% of Its Computer Crime Related to Virtual Worlds.

That's a statistic Edward Castronova, virtual world expert and author of Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games, cites in an interview on public radio show, Zocalo.  This is a must-hear interview.

He asks us to imagine that a new world has been discovered. He draws an analogy to the discovery of America and the massive changes in European society it provoked: the prodigious migration of people, the new economic models that were created, and the awakening of democracy.

Today, the migration is a different kind, and perhaps more massive.  We are shifting some fraction of our time and attention into instantly accessible virtual worlds.  Castronova estimates there are 20-30 million people who are now logging into some kind of virtual reality.

Castronova, who is also an economist, spends much of his time telling policy makers and business leaders it is time to pay attention. 

Korea is facing significant social and economic issues due to the large percentage of its population who spend considerable time in virtual spaces.  And, he suggests the Korean experience is a look into the future for the rest of us.

Filling the court docket with virtual world crime as just one societal area that is about to be seriously challenged.  He wonders how we keep students in school, for example, when they can choose fantasy-on-demand instead.  Although educators currently view gaming as an “opportunity,” Castronova says Korea is showing us that the opportunity phase is over – and that we must be integrating immersive experiences into education or we will lose eyeballs to these far more compelling spaces.

Should governments respond?  Castranova warns virtual reality is moving too fast for our systems to keep up – and that it is vital for governments to devote attention to them and to their impending impact.

Listen to the interview on Zocalo, Life 2.0 Market and Society on the Virtual Frontier.  In the second half of the show, Cory Ondrejka, Chief Technology Officer for Linden Lab, talks about the workings and culture of Second Life and gives fascinating examples of how it is affecting the lives of real people, education, and real-world spaces.

Castronova is currently working on a new book, The Fun Revolution.

December 16, 2006