There must be a need. Virtual Zones (www.virtual zones.co.uk) – an online community that allows users to create animated versions of themselves – has registered 26,000 members since it launched in London last December.
New members are registering at a rate of 2,000 per week, says Mecca Ibrahim of Thus, who is new project manager for VZones. Thus, formerly Scottish Telecom, is a partner in the site with Avaterra Europe Ltd., which licenses the VZones software.
Once registered, members can “walk” through an animated landscape and purchase items with tokens earned through time spent on the site. The main items available are things members can use to customize their online persona or “avatar,” such as spray paint (to change the color of their clothes or skin), hats or different heads to wear during chats – including cat, dog and fish faces (each with its own range of facial expressions).
Ibrahim notes that approximately half of the members choose avatars that look like themselves, while others opt for masks or animal heads. The company thinks the service is a good relationship marketing vehicle. For example, a pet food marketer could purchase the sponsorship opportunity to talk online with cat- and dog-headed residents, who, presumably, have some affinity for the creatures they resemble.
Before the U.K. intro, Virtual Zones communities already existed for Honolulu, San Francisco, Seattle and Silicon Valley. Members of a “city” can travel online to any of the other locales. The most popular so far has been VZ, which is the core community of the Zones.
There are currently 150,000 “residents” worldwide. Membership is free in the United Kingdom – Thus makes money from the phone connections – but a $9 six-month subscription fee is charged in the United States.
Advertising partners such as Mojo Records and Barnes & Noble sponsor areas of the site, such as record stores or carnivals.
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