In short, an adult virtual world is exactly that, adult. Most will require a credit card to verify your age, or at least, the responsible platforms worth mentioning will. It is illegal in most countries to engage in sexual conduct or view pornography under the age of consent or adulthood, which varies by nation. Many virtual worlds, however, do exist that cater specifically to the teenage market. The more powerful, famous platforms, such as Active Worlds (www.activeworlds.com) and Second Life (www.secondlife.com) will require you to download a client. Without having to download anything at all, Neopets (www.neopets.com) is probably one of the most popular virtual worlds aimed at teenagers. Operated by Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds, the site started in 1997 and styles itself as a game and chat program, which is heavily populated. Other options include IMVU (www.imvu.com) which has aimed itself at the teenage market of late, and in particular the Twilight fan crowd, Habbo (www.habbo.com) which can also be played through Facebook, and Switchin (www.switchin.net), in which you can use a customisable avatar and engage in 3D chat. For a more interactive experience, you’re likely to be looking for online 3D Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG), which are in abundance on the Internet although vary greatly in quality. The oldest and best-known is RuneScape, which can be found at www.runescape.com, and has a fantasy genre flavour. BigPoint also recently launched an online Battlestar Galactica MMORPG, which can be found at www.battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com As mentioned, the more advanced programs that are purely dedicated to chat often require downloads and sometimes a fee, but these should get you started in the free sector of online virtual worlds. Adult chat remains purely for the adults, although only experimentation will reveal which rooms, environments and communities that you feel the most comfortable in.
