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The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations, and also, differing denotations.

The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real. Colloquially, 'virtual' is used to mean almost, particularly when used in the adverbial form e.g., "That's virtually almost impossible".

The Sims is an American strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was created by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons ("Sims") in a suburban household near SimCity.

The Sims was first released on February 4, 2000. By March 22, 2002, The Sims had sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling PC game in history; the game has shipped 16 million copies worldwide as of February 7, 2005. Since its initial release, seven expansion packs and two sequels, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 (each with their own expansion packs), have been released. The Sims has won numerous awards, including GameSpot's "Game of the Year Award" for 2000.

IMVU is a social network and 3D virtual world developed by IMVU, Inc. The company was founded in 2004 by Will Harvey, a video game developer, entrepreneur and founder of There. The service offers an immersive 3D environment where users can customize their avatars and rooms, in addition to meeting and interacting with other users.

Gaia Online is an English-language, anime-themed social networking and forums-based website. It was founded in 2003 as Go-Gaia.com, but the name was changed to GaiaOnline.com in 2004 by its owner, Gaia Interactive. Gaia originally began as an anime linklist and eventually developed a small community, but, following a statement by founder Derek Liu (username "Lanzer"), the website moved towards soc...

Meez is a social network service based in San Francisco, CA.

Meez combines avatars and games within a virtual world, creating an environment where users can personalize their identity, connect with friends, socialize, and share media. While there are free customization items on the website, Meez has a currency called "Coinz" that allows for further customization. Users acquire Coinz by playing games and through paid subscriptions. Pre-paid Meez Coinz are sold at certain retailers, such as Best Buy and Target.

Meez originally began as a website where users could export avatars onto other sites and social networks. In June 2008, Meez launched Meez Nation, a browser-based virtual world composed of a variety of neighborhoods.http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/06/19/meez-finally-launches-virtual-world-meez-nation/ MeezNation offers a range of places for avatar networking, including public spaces called Hangouts and custom-built, personal spaces called Roomz. Users control avatars by pointing and clicking on environments. Users interact with other avatars in Meez Nation by typing in a text box.

Meez was developed by Donnerwood Media as an "online entertainment" web service. Meez was founded by Sean Ryan, former VP of Music Services of Real Networks. Meez's CEO, John Cahill, is a former Yahoo executive. Meez launched on March 28, 2006. Currently, Meez has 3 million unique users, who average around three hours per month on the site. There are 13 million registered Meez users, 90% of which are in the United States.http://www.socialtimes.com/2009/10/meez-becomes-profitable-with-3-million-monthly-users/ Meez advertisers have included Nike, Rocawear, the NBA, and the NHL.http://games.venturebeat.com/2009/10/20/meez-teen-virtual-playground-integrated-into-myspace/