Virtual Worlds Forum

Habbo has teamed up with Conduit to launch a new 'community toolbar', which will make it easier for its users to chat, post in forums, and be updated with news feeds, My Habbo homepages and friend alerts, even when they're not within Habbo itself. "The functionality lets members see their friends, messages and Habbo news from anywhere online," says Teemu Huuhtanen from Habbo. "It's a constant reminder of the community that's waiting for them, and therefore encourages them to keep coming back."

Social network Hi5 has acquired PixVerse, one of the application developers creating apps for Hi5 and its rivals. The company was responsible for the popular Pix Chat and Pix Wall applications, which let users communicate with each other.

There've been a few virtual worlds companies experimenting with Facebook applications, but the latest looks like one of the most appealing. It's called Fresbo World, and with 630 daily active users at the moment, it's definitely under the radar. However, it's well worth a look.

It's a big day for Facebook news, what with our earlier post about Vivaty's funding for 3D chatrooms on the social network. Now Coca Cola is getting into the Facebook / VR game, with an avatar-based application promoting its Burn drink.

Is there any phrase more likely to get VCs flinging money at you than '3D Facebook chatrooms'? I don't think so. The company is Vivati, a US-based startup founded by former Electronic Arts exec Keith McCurdy.

Raph Koster has announced the first virtual world created using Metaplace's platform, and it's not quite what you'd expect. "It's just a simple chat app, with movie playing, soccer balls to kick around, and some other features," he says. "It only uses a fraction of what Metaplace can do, but it's a start..."

Fascinating panel yesterday on Facebook and the New Web of Social Gaming. Ably moderated by Nabeel Hyatt from Conduit Labs, with TJ Murphy from Warbook/SGN and Marc Pincus from Zynga, it was quite some show.

The latest virtual world to venture onto Facebook is Gaia Online, which has created what it describes as a "miniature version" of its world as a Facebook application. It's called OMG, and lets people use their Gaia avatar in a cut-down version of Gaia Online, playing mini-games, signing guestbooks and adding friends, and earning points to be used in the full virtual world.