Internet phone calls aren’t just for telecommuters and grandparents anymore. In the coming months online games and virtual worlds, including Linden Lab’s Second Life and Sony’s Star Wars, plan to start charging players to call one another over the Web — even when they’re not immersed in a game.
The idea is to forge tighter bonds between the virtual communities and the people who inhabit them by helping players make real-world connections from their phones. On May 20, Second Life operator Linden Lab will announce plans to introduce features to connect its 650,000 active members via land lines, cell phones, and PCs. One service, called “Dial an Avatar,” lets players call other characters in the virtual world, or dial into a virtual meeting from their cell phone — even when they’re not sitting in front of their browser. The company plans to roll out new features throughout the year and may charge subscriptions to make calls into Second Life.
Linden Lab isn’t the only online world operator experimenting with paid Web calling. Sony Online Entertainment plans to introduce new Internet calling services this summer for its online fantasy role-playing games, EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies. “It’s a community-forming feature,” says Russ Shanks, chief operating officer of Sony Online Entertainment. One service would let users talk with friends, no matter what Sony game they’re playing.
Minting Revenues from Virtual Worlds
PC maker Lenovo has plans to launch a new virtual world called the “Lenovo eLounge,” designed to boost sales of its machines. The lounge features Web phone calling software from Nortel.
For online worlds and games, such Internet phone features could provide new sources of revenue in a Web world whose users are increasingly being asked to shell out for virtual products. Facebook and MySpace recently began testing virtual currencies that let users buy digital goods…