Virtual Worlds as a Means to Promote Inter-cultural Communications

Through the internet, a person can build their own persona. Anonymity can be achieved easily and without fear of judgment. Any person encountered in a chat room or virtual game can turn out to be a man or a woman, a child or elderly, black or white. One would not even know the difference, nor would they care. When using the internet, personality and imagination are two of the most important traits. Therefore, the internet can, at times, be one the simplest mediums in which to ''¹..."meet' someone of the opposite culture while maintaining an open mind. In the virtual world, new channels of communication can be opened up between different cultures, but there are also a few limitations to complement the benefits of virtual worlds and inter-cultural communication.

On the internet, there are several virtual worlds to choose from. Second Life has become a popular virtual world, one that is accessed by users all over the world. French, English, Australian, Japanese, and other cultures take part in Second Life game play. There is a culture that is largely misunderstood that also takes part in the online game of second life: Islamics. Oftentimes, when the culture of Islam is mentioned, some people picture angry terrorists intent on spreading a message of hate across the world. What certain prejudice people fail to realize is that terrorism is a part of every culture, but Islamic terrorism has been sensationalized by facets of the media. Like any other culture, Islam is comprised of those who do good and bad deeds, succeed and fail, and love and hate. Utilizing an avatar on Second Life, one can interact with people from the Islamic community to find out that they are as complex as any other culture. "The Richard Lounsberry Foundation has funded a collaboration between the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and Dancing Ink Productions (DIP) to launch the [...] Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds,' project," according to Joshua Fouts. Their findings were introduced later on, showing celebrities and ambassadors from the Islamic community that wanted to share their culture through a virtual media conference in Second Life.

Joshua Fouts is an avid gamer that feels passionately about the potential of the virtual world, "The more time I spent in these worlds, the more convinced I became that these spaces provided a uniquely rich and transformational opportunity for us to explore new ways of dialogue. Somehow, in spite of the fact that people are meeting each other as avatars that might not be representative of their appearance in "real life, a more authentic version of a person seems to be expressed," Fouts writes.

Games like Second Life can provide a platform for new inter-cultural experiences, but they might not always be positive ones. In other online games prejudice still exists. There were times when a person can log on to a server and hear not just English being spoken, but Japanese or French as well. While some may find it interesting that other cultures were playing the same game that they was, other people may become angry that their online space is being invaded by "chinks" or "frogs". Many times, other English-speaking players trash talk simply because the other people were not from their country. In a way, the fact that they are not face to face with those people makes it easier for them to use more and more derogatory terms. Even so, one may not encounter situations like this all the time whenever playing online games, merely enough times to remember and reflect upon.

For the most part, online virtual worlds can be a good place to start understanding different cultures. An online avatar is less threatening than a real person, and so the communication may flow differently. It is also just as likely that the lack of a physical representation can enable some to be uncharacteristically harsh to those that are different from them. As with most things, the virtual world has the potential for good and bad inter-cultural communications and understanding.

Joshua S. Fouts, Understanding Islam Through Virtual Worlds, The Imagination Age