Electronic Commerce Research: Virtual Worlds Special Issue Call

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Electronic Commerce Research: Virtual Worlds Special Issue Call
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DEADLINE: 31st May 2008 (for more information please visit:
http://www.ebusiness-newcastle.com/news/article.php?id=40)

I HAVE AN AVATAR THEREFORE I EXIST: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN
METAVERSES

Millions of users from around the globe participate in massive
multiplayer
online role playing games (MMORPG), such as Second Life and World of
Warcraft, 3D worlds that are often considered the next generation Web.
With
their user base growing at an exponential rate we are already
experiencing
the development of a phenomenon that may be as significant as the Web
itself. The rapid development of MMORPGs and metaverses is likely to
bring
about significant business as well as social, legal, policy,
methodological
and technological opportunities and challenges.

This special issue aims to explore these and contribute to this rapidly
expanding field by focusing on issues relevant to electronic business
and
management. Academics and practitioners are invited to submit
conceptually
and empirically based original papers addressing areas such as those
listed
below:
-Business opportunities and challenges
-Marketing implications
-Identity management issues
-Virtual economies and economic policies
-Virtual entrepreneurship and metaverse ebusiness models
-Developing MMORPGs and related strategies and ebusiness models
-Real money trading
-Consumer and business ethics in metaverses
-Case studies (e.g. Second Life, World of Warcraft etc)
-Human-computer interaction issues in metaverses
-Psychological aspects of participating in metaverses
-Legal issues (e.g. copyright and ownership of virtual property)

The above areas are just indicative and this special issue would
welcome
papers discussing other relevant topics. For the manuscripts guidelines
please visit the journal's web site. All papers, accompanied by a short
biographical note for each author (approximately 200-250 words per
author),
should be submitted as an email attachment to Dr Savvas Papagiannidis
(savvas.papagiannidis@ncl.ac.uk). All papers will be double blind
refereed.

Important dates:
- Last date for submitting the manuscript: 31st May 2008
- End of the first review cycle: 1st of July 2008
- Tentative date for completing the revised papers: 15th  August 2008
- Tentative date for completing the second review cycle: 15th
September
2008
- Submission of the final manuscripts for print: 15th October 2008