Jamais Cascio warns that augmented reality technologies could be misused to further the already crippling levels of political polarization in society.

A new distributed computing project, the EvoGrid, hopes to enlist millions of volunteers to use their desktop computers to power a simulation that can determine how life emerged from the primordial soup.

The latest multi-core processors and some smart software allow techniques used by physicists and engineers to simulate the real world in extreme detail, creating virtual worlds governed by real physics, rather than the simplified versions used today.

NASA has signed developers on to create its first massively multiplayer online video game (MMO), called "Astronaut: Moon, Mars & Beyond." Players would take on astronaut roles such as roboticist, rather than becoming a grenadier or sniper in a more combat-oriented game.

The online universe is brimming with dozens of virtual worlds vying to build sustainable life in the "avatar age."

An outbreak of a deadly disease in a virtual world can offer insights into real life epidemics, scientists suggest.

Second Life, the popular online virtual world, has announced its plans to open-source access to its backend as a way of meeting increasing demand.

Users of online worlds such as Second Life and World of Warcraft transact millions of dollars worth of virtual goods and services every day, and these virtual economies are beginning to draw the attention of real-world authorities.

Entropia, an online computer games is taking an ambitious step to meld their in-game economy with the real global financial system by allowing players to withdraw virtual funds into real-world currency using an ATM.

The author looks at the potential 'worldchanging' implications of three virtual reality technologies: Augmented Reality, Virtual Worlds, and Simulations.