Virtual Worlds

Brought to you by Penguin. In the coming decades, the technology that enables virtual and augmented reality will improve beyond recognition. Within a century, world-renowned philosopher David J. Chalmers predicts, we will have virtual worlds that are impossible to distinguish from non-virtual...

In a world where billions now live, work, play, and build relationships in immersive digital realms, the law has been left behind. Virtual worlds—metaverses, persistent online universes, and augmented realities—have become vibrant economies, social spaces, and new frontiers of human experience. Yet today, users often possess no meaningful rights: platforms can delete avatars, seize virtual property, harvest biometric data, or silence dissent at will, while monopolistic giants dominate the landscape and unchecked harms flourish in a digital Wild West.

What happens when you suddenly find yourself in a reality of untold possibilities, in a place where technology and magic are indistinguishable? Every game location is a transformed physical world connected to others through an interstellar network of portals. Every player "avatar" is a living physical body with incredible survival traits. Once in this dreamscape, it would be unwise to not seize the moment! There are, however, a couple of catches.

Artificial intelligence is already embedded in much of our daily lives, and it's increasingly moving into realms that impact authors and the publishing industry. We need to embrace the opportunities and engage in conversations around possible threats in order to reinvent our industry for a very different future. In this book, I discuss current technological and societal trends and consider the opportunities for authors and the publishing industry over the next decade. We can use these technologies to surf the wave of change and invent the decade ahead - together.

AudioLearn’s Business School Crash Course series presents Marketing in the Virtual World. Written by distinguished professors and professionally narrated for easy listening, this crash course is a valuable tool both during school and when preparing for exams, or if you’re simply interested in the subject of social and digital marketing.

"Expanding Your Brand in the Virtual World: A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Twinning with Fashion Garments" is a must-listen for fashion industry professionals looking to explore the cutting-edge technology of digital twinning. This guide provides a clear and actionable roadmap for creating virtual garments, optimizing supply chains, and enhancing customer engagement through avatars and personalized experiences.

Colene does not know what to think of the stranger she has rescued. Darius tells her he has traveled from "his reality" to find her. In proving to Colene that other worlds do exist, he uses up the power of the artifact that would allow them to travel back to his universe.

The astounding new novel from the bestselling and Costa-shortlisted author of Time Travelling with a Hamster, this is a story for everyone of ten and older who loves adventure, laughs and tears. “One of my favourite middle-grade writers” Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink and...

Justin Miller presents the second book in the World Seed series. Join John Hulett as he continues his journey through the world of NeoLife, bringing his experiences and powers to play on Earth to aid against the coming storm. What exactly does the future hold for mankind?

Bloomsbury presents… How to Design a Universe: The Science of Real and Virtual Worlds Written and read by Professor Catherine Heymans Could we be living in a computer simulation? How would we even know? In How to Design a Universe, acclaimed astrophysicist Catherine Heymans takes you on a...

The year is 2245, and the world has undergone explosive growth in multiple industries. The age of Virtual Reality came long ago, opening up new fields for people to enjoy and seek employment. There were even those that chose to sacrifice their physical bodies, becoming digital existences that lived within Internet communities. But with the age of VR, everyone still dreamed of that next step, the next level of adventure.

Grow your brand and attract a legion of customers with industry-proven strategies. E-Commerce is one of the fastest growing industries globally, with a huge potential to grow exponentially in the coming years. If you’ve jumped on this money-making wagon by establishing your online ecommerce business, you should already be familiar with a drawback of such a successful industry: competition. That, in short, means that whatever you want to sell, someone is most likely already selling it. But, that doesn’t mean you should give up.

The celebrated author of The Making of Second Life and Game Design Secrets Wagner, James Au, delivers an engrossing exploration of how nascent metaverse platforms have already captured the imagination of millions. Featuring powerful stories and dozens of incisive interviews with insiders including Metaverse creator Neal Stephenson himself, the author uses his unique, grassroots-level perspective as the first reporter embedded in a metaverse platform.

Turn passive screen time into an educational STEM adventure that reveals the fascinating science behind virtual reality. Perfect for family road trips or curious quiet time, this playful audio journey explains how clever tricks of sight, sound, and motion convince the human brain it has stepped...

Master immersive virtual reality technology and explore boundless digital worlds without needing a tech degree. Perfect for your daily commute, this accessible guide turns complex gadgetry into exciting, easy-to-grasp concepts. Satisfy your curious mind and confidently navigate the booming...

Discover the thrilling tech history of digital worlds, where visionary engineers battled hardware limits to bend reality. Perfect for an engaging daily commute, this thought-provoking journey explores our deep psychological drive for complete immersion and human connection. Fuel your curiosity...

What is the metaverse? Quite simply, it's a digital platform to help people collaborate, work and play in new ways, in an immersive 3D environment. In Basic Metaverse, leading futurist David L. Shrier explains how the technology works, unpacks its potential uses - including its relationship to the development of Web3 - and its impact on everyday life and work.

Imagine how great it would be to cut costs and grow your business beyond your wildest expectations by “remoting it” with outstanding global freelance talent. Discover how you can eliminate the expense of maintaining an office and many other costs with this approach. Get ready to ditch the office and experience the freedom of working from anywhere while leading a booming business.

A heartbreaking and moving story about a daughter’s quest to discover the truth about her father’s hidden past Ada Sibelius is raised by David, a single father and head of a computer science lab in Boston. Homeschooled, she accompanies her loving father—brilliant, eccentric, socially...

The Last Full Measure tells the forgotten story of the sacred mission to return America’s fallen from foreign battlefields. In the fall of 1944, German flak shredded an American bomber in the skies over Austria. Four crew parachuted from the burning aircraft, but six spiraled five miles to...