We are pleased to announce the latest issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://jvwresearch.org). Volume 2, Number 5: The Metaverse Assembled The Metaverse Assembled issue features the best papers from the SLACTIONS 2009 conference, as well as, peer reviewed articles sumbitted directly to the Journal. The metaverse is emerging, through the increasing use of virtual world technologies that act as platforms for end-users to create, develop, and interact, expanding the realm of human cooperation, interaction, and creativity. This issue focuses on applications and developments of metaverse platforms, including: Second Life, OpenSim, Open Croquet, Activeworlds, Open Source Metaverse, Project Wonderland, among others., and seeks the best papers examining the integration of metaverse platforms with external systems, integration of platforms, GIS/metaverse mash-ups, and using metaverse platforms for cooperation. http://jvwresearch.org The editorial team for this issue includes: * Hanan Gazit, MetaverSense Ltd and H.I.T-Holon Institute of Technology, Israel * D. Linda Garcia, Georgetown University, USA * Garrison LeMasters, Georgetown University, USA * Leonel Morgado, UTAD, Portugal This is issue is sponsored, in part, by: The Virtual Goods Forum 23-24 June 2010 - London www.virtualgoodsforum.co.uk Journal of Virtual Worlds Research readers receive a 20% discount when registering with code C0015VWI. Editor-Chief′s Corner Culture of the Cloud Tom Boellstorff ExtSim: A Flexible Data Mapping and Synchronization Middleware for Scientific Visualization in Virtual Worlds Johan Berntsson, Norman Lin, Zoltan Dezso The Effects of Avatar Appearance in Virtual Worlds Nicholas Merola, Jorge Peña SLACTIONS 2009 Selected Papers Who am I - and if so, where? A Study on Personality in Virtual Realities Benjamin Gregor Aas, Katharina Meyerbröker, Paul M. G. Emmelkamp Digital Guqin Museum from a Virtual World to the Real World : Conception and design of an ongoing cultural sim Shuen-git Chow Building Knowledge in the Virtual World – Influence of Real Life Relationships Ana Loureiro, Teresa Bettencourt Brands and Consumption in Virtual Worlds Ioanna Nikolaou A Second Life First Year Experience Paul Penfold, Peter Duffy Some Remarks on Ontological-Cognitive Structures in the Metaverse Luis Carlos Petry ArchHouseGenerator – A Framework for House Generation Nuno Rodrigues, Luís Magalhães, João Paulo Moura, Alan Chalmers, Filipe Santos, Leonel Morgado The Ontological Aspects of Puzzles into Metaverses Cristiano Natal Tonéis, Luís Carlos Petry Fractal Village Unplugged: Design-Based Research On Computing with Marginalized Youth Sneha Veeragoudar Harrell, Dor Abrahamson Peer Reviewed Research Papers The effects of Avatars’ Gender and Appearance on Social Behavior in Online 3D Virtual Worlds Domna Banakou, Konstantinos Chorianopoulos Evaluating Participation in an International Bilingual Virtual World Educational Intervention for Youth Laura Beals, Marina Umaschi Bers Compounding the Results: The Integration of Virtual Worlds with the Semantic Web Charles J. Lesko, Yolanda A. Hollingsworth Staging the New Retail Drama: at a Metaverse Near You! Savvas Papagiannidis, Michael Bourlakis Producing knowledge in collaborative research about virtual worlds: discursive constructions of Second Life Louise Jane Phillips My Second Life as a Cyber Border Crosser Carleen D. Sanchez Essays Trucking Towards a Virtual World: The Development and Implementation of FMCSA’s Transportation Nation Second Life Island Adam Schlicht "Think Pieces" The Essence of Virtuality: Exploring the Digital Body Mark Ortwein Implications for Virtual Worlds: A Comparative Study of United Kingdom, United States and Australia on Network Readiness, Government Investment and Cyber-security. Kate Roth http://jvwresearch.org ................................................................ This email should only be sent to those who have asked to receive it. To unsubscribe, return to the web form where you first subscribed and click the "unsubscribe" button, or contact the owner of the website.