Habbo Schmabbo

As far as virtual reality chat rooms go, Habbo Hotel is pretty good in that it knows its limitations. Far from making an engrossing 3D world in the style of a First Person Shooter (FPS), Habbo gives you a cute cartoon avatar in a bunch of limited capacity rooms. The big side effect is the place is always full of kids (mostly British pre-teens), so don't expect an insightful conversation or a high level of maturity. Of course, I never expect that when going into an online chat room.
It's clever: It's free to join, free to customize your avatar, free to make a room, and it doesn't oversell itself to the public. The conversation mechanism is clever too -- you can hear fragments of conversations as you walk through a room, since you have to be close to a person to hear what they are saying. Alternately, you can yell to everyone in a room, and all the little avatar heads turn to look at you.
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Inactive Worlds

This site is one of the first websites to go for the deep virtual reality experience. It's been around for a number of years now, but hasn't improved the look or function since I've been viewing it (and I've been back a couple of times over the years). Essentially the engine is about the level of Castle Wolfenstein, and you can still get through any wall or door simply by going sideways. Other than the technical drawbacks, there's no real reason to be in here, since there's never anyone around. Most "tourists" congregate near the starting portal and chat for free. Other members--those who allegedly pay for this service--aren't anywhere to be seen, but they've created some god-awful nightmare buildings and landscapes. It's about as fun as exploring the Ontario Science Center (without all the science stuff). Big, lonely, and ugly-looking.
Download the client and try it for yourself. But be aware there are far better games out there.
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Time to go “There”

Here's (or There's) one of the more professional-looking virtual reality online worlds. It's (There's) currently in beta testing, but it looks like it'll rival the Sims Online for non-gamers:
'"There" is the first online getaway that gives you the freedom to play and talk naturally while having fun and making friends. Check out the pictures below for just a glimpse of what you'll find in There. Then sign up to be one of our Beta Testers and see it all for yourself!
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The Sorcerer of Sony

The hottest properties in cyberspace are virtual worlds. Meet the man who's making magic -- and millions of dollars each month -- by developing the Net's newest boomtowns.

Star Wars Galaxies Features “Delayed”

LucasArts will delay the inclusion of player-owned cities, vehicles, and Dark Jedi to some time after the April launch of the Star Wars online role-playing game.

Loser of Online Game Suspect in Killing

He lost a violent cyberwar game known as Counterstrike and then shot the victor.
Police now think that losing the game and being ridiculed about it triggered the Coquitlam Internet cafe shooting Jan. 18 that cost 17-year-old Christian Kwee his life.

SWG: The Consecrated

Pulled this from the SWG forums. It's a bunch of X-tians who will be playing StarWars Galaxies, and want to setup an X-tian players' association. I think it's strange that people would intentionally bring their religious beliefs into a StarWars-themed game.
"Hello, This is Zodakk, leader of The Consecrated. The Consecrated is a Christian Player Association. We accept anyone that believes Jesus died for their sins and as their personal Savior. We are currently looking for new members in all professions and species. The Consecrated was created for Christians to come together and play Star Wars Galaxies and have fun as a group of people in the same faith. You can visit our site for more information."

BioWare Announces Two Expansion Packs for Neverwinter Nights

Atari, BioWare Corp. and FloodGate Entertainment are joining forces to expand the universe of the smash hit Neverwinter Nights™ , the award-winning fantasy role-playing game based in the Dungeons & Dragons™ Forgotten Realms™ world created by Wizards of the Coast. Neverwinter Nights™: Shadows of Undrentide is the first official expansion pack and is scheduled for release in Spring 2003.

Ghost Of Christmas Future Taunts Children With Visions Of PlayStation 5

SOUTHFIELD, MI.Bored with scaring elderly misers, the Ghost of Christmas Future is spending the holiday season taunting modern children with visions of Christmas 2016's hottest toy: the Sony PlayStation 5, a 2,048-bit console featuring a 45-Ghz trinary processor, CineReal graphics booster with 2-gig biotexturing, and an RSP connector for 360-degree online-immersion play.

The Super Powered Massively Multiplayer RPG

Looking for a new MMRPG game to get into? Well, look no further, citizen. Welcome to City of Heroes, the online world that's home to an entire universe of heroes. Here you and thousands of other players can take on the roles of super powered heroes, fight villains, and help create the story in a stunning, 3D graphical world.