Yet as interoperability and commercialization move into the VW space, the experimental and anonymous feel of today’s most popular virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life) may subside. Better digital identity and reputation, and the entry of major physical world brands, celebrities, and interests into social VWs may convert the majority of them into more mundane and restrictive varieties of social relationship and identity. Perhaps only the theme-based game worlds, and less popular social VWs will remain havens for identity privacy (even as true anonymity disappears), and identity and relationship experimentation.
