Virtual Worlds

In the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street, Kris Kringle says to Susan, “To me, the imagination is a place all by itself … a separate country. You've heard of the French or the British nation. Well, this is the Imagine nation.” Children and teens have always been fascinated by imaginary worlds—this is part of the draw of the Harry Potter books, the Star Trek television series, even comic books featuring superheroes. Now this age group is flocking in droves (as many as 8.2 million in 2007) to a new kind of imaginary world (European Network and Information Security Agency [ENISA], 2008).

Once the fodder of sci-fi novels and shows, virtual worlds are becoming increasingly popular in mainstream applications. During the 2007–2008 ...