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Hot Sites: What in the World is Going On?


Figure 7.111: awn3d.jpg
Thereís an advertisement in the New World Times.

In AlphaWorld, the newsstand objects often point to a site on the World Wide Web. Just have your Web browser running and left-click on a newsstand, and you will launch that Web site! One very important Web site to visit is the New World Times at http://www.synergycorp.com/alphaworld/nwt/, which is AlphaWorldís first and still most popular newspaper. The figure above shows an advertisement from the New World Times, which gives you a good idea of what some citizens are up to.


Figure 7.112: awn3g.jpg
Paul Kleeís art gallery is in Colony Alpha.

Paul Klee built and hosts an art gallery in Colony Alpha, another Active World which you can reach from AlphaWorld. Paul features new artists and holds regular openings. He captures the work of a featured artist by scanning photographs of paintings in and placing the resulting images on the walls of his gallery.


Figure 7.113: awn5a.jpg
A sculpture garden

This magnificent sculpture garden was constructed by students as a project for Dr. Derrick Woodham in a class at the University of Cincinnati and features modernistic, geometric, urban sculpture.

Active Worlds is evolving many new services all the time. I suggest you check out the New World Times or your Avatars! book Web site for up-to-date links.

Hot AlphaWorld Web Site Services

Note that some of these Web page links may have changed or the Web pages may have been discontinued. Consult your Avatars! book home page at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars for a more up-to-date list of links.

Official pages

Home page of Active Worlds: http://www.activeworlds.com.

The New World Times newspaper. See it at http://www.synergycorp.com/alphaworld/nwt/.

Original Web Of Worlds Destinations within AlphaWorld and other Active Worlds. See it at http://www.worlds.net/webofworlds/destinations.html.

Original Worlds Inc. AlphaWorld citizen Web pages. See it at http://www.worlds.net/alphaworld/aw-links.html.

Many more links are listed on the Avatars! book Web site. See it at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars. Also check the Contact Consortium Hot Links page at http://www.ccon.org/hotlinks/hotlinks.html#alphalinks.

Some unofficial citizen pages


Digiís Diary: Our Future in Digital Space


Figure 114: awrega.jpg
DigiGardener marches fearlessly into a digital future.

Where will the lure of the virtual take us? Your guess is as good as anyoneís!

During the creation of this book, I spent months going in and out of AlphaWorld, and every other virtual world I could find. Because I could build and leave my own mark in AlphaWorld, I experienced first-hand my own psychological and emotional attachment to the spaces I created. Building my own sites changed the way I looked at the world. I would catch myself saying, ìmy those trees and shrubs are arranged beautifully, wait a minute, thatís a real forest!î I found that working and living in digital space puts a heavy workload on the mind, a kind of virtual brain fatigue. In the coming years, new equipment such as affordable stereovision goggles will make the experience in virtual worlds almost totally immersive. Everywhere you look you will see the digital landscape. The only thing that seems guaranteed is that these worlds will become richer, and that many more people will be drawn into them.

Where will the siren song of the virtual eventually lead us? Off this world and into the digital space? Out of our bodies and into a higher mind? Your own journey into digital realms will be a very personal experience, unlike anyone elseís. Perhaps the answers to these questions will emerge within the a collective mind we create through this medium.

DigiGardener marches on! See you in the next world!

© Copyright Bruce Damer, 1997, All rights reserved.

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