There's an eye opener, if ever There was one

Is the real world so dry and boring that we must now resort to virtual worlds? Not only are we spending more time on the internet, we are starting to compensate for the lack of 'reality' by building online worlds, literally. Instantly the new game 'The Sims' comes to mind, but that is a mere game. No, we can do more than that. We have There. There is a new 'software programme' based online which is essentially an online world. Part chatroom, part online shop, part RPG 'Myth' like gameplay, There has it all. Of course, there are a few drawbacks. First is that it costs to 'play'. Also, it costs to buy things. Not things you get to see and use tangibly, but things your character uses. So where in other games the more points you get the more accessories and bonuses you get, as with There except points=money. Real money. Second, because of the heavy graphics usage necessary for such an enterprise, you really need to be running state of the art software. You need the newest graphics card and high speed cable modem. Also, if There takes off like it is expected to, and with a budget of $33 million, it is not likely to remain at the current level of sophistication. It is probably that you would need to be constantly upgrading your computer just to keep playing it. Still, there should be enough people out there keen on using the interface, though it is still in its beta release stage and is not due for full release until late 2003.