Every time I try and write something about the emergence of virtual worlds and the academic study surrounding them, I get bogged down in the task and stop. The concept is so divorced from normal reality that it’s more than I’m capable of to just provide some background, let alone communicate some particular interesting aspect of the phenomenon.

I’m not going to try again now. But in short: remember back in the early 90s when people got excited about the possiblity of “virtual reality”, where people could exist and have emotionally and politically complex lives in non-real, computer created spaces? Sure you remember. Well, in a slightly different than predicted form, it is going on today on a massive scale.

Truth is, I think back in the early 90s we were mostly just excited about the possibilty that non-real computer-created spaces could just exist, never mind contain emotional and political complexities.

Here we are, there they are, and the complexities are so there, and I am just fascinated. Each time I poke my head into the world of worlds, I find myself increasingly blown away by the implications. And I’ve never actually poked my head, er, really in there. My computer can’t handle it.

And I am increasingly unable to write about the whole damn thing. But I will. Actually I tried once and I wrote a whole bunch and accidentally deleted it. Anyhow.

Here’s an example of what goes on:

This is from the website of an “embedded journalist” who works in the “Second Life” world. He’s there, interviewing another citizen of that world about her plans for remembering 9/11. She tells him about the church she has built there, and they go to have a look.

“I set up some candles at the altar,” she says, “so that if anyone has anything on their heart, they can copy a candle, name it with the prayer request, and place it on the shelf. I actually do spend time in prayer for the candles that are placed, it’s not a sham.” We’re sitting next to each other in a pew by the altar, but for some reason, I prefer to keep talking with her via Instant Message. It doesn’t seem right to “chat” in a church.

My head twists just thinking about it.