What is Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

The necessity of supporting more and more social interaction (and not only mere information sharing) in online environments is the disruptive force upon which phenomena ascribed to the Web2.0 paradigm continuously bud. People interacting in online socio-technical environments mold technology to their needs, seamlessly integrating it into their everyday life. MUVEs (Multi User Virtual Environments) are no exception and, in several cases, represent a new frontier in this field. In this chapter the authors analyze if and how MUVEs can be considered a means for augmenting the life of real communities and of people in general. The authors trace a framework of analysis based on four main observations, and through these lenses we look at Second Life and at several projects they are currently developing in this synthetic world.