Virtual Worlds Forum

Actually, using the term 'widows' in the context of interactive entertainment addiction is pretty sexist, implying that men get addicted to games, and women sit downstairs in the living room pining for their husband. I'm sure it can work just as well in reverse. Nevertheless, the phenomenon is well-known, perhaps most famously with football management simulation Championship Manager, which has been cited in several divorces as a contributing factor. However, now it seems virtual worlds and MMOs are under the spotlight as a cause of marital strife.

California-based virtual events company Unisfair has raised $10 million from Norwest Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. It's the company's second round of funding, following an initial round backed purely by Sequoia. The company specialises in running virtual events such as industry conferences and job fairs, and according to Venturebeat, it's hosted around 400 events in the last year and a half, with an average attendance of 1,500. Clients include Cisco, Cognos and Nielsen.

Having written yesterday about EGO, today's news from the multiplayer mobile gaming space concerns MicroMonster, a game developed by German firm Biting Bit. As you may have guessed from the title, it takes a fantasy theme, with players creating their own monster, and then taking it online to battle other people's. The game works over the mobile network or via Bluetooth, and there's also a single-player mode for people to train their monster up.