Statistics

Sources of statistics about virtual worlds can be useful for making a case for the use of virtual worlds in your institution. Here are some sources of data about virtual worlds in general and also about educational use.


 * 1) Exponential **growth forecasts of virtual worlds** available at KZero (virtual worlds industry metrics and analysis) [|http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/?p=284]
 * 2) [|Virtual Worlds Watch] who researches **use of virtual worlds in UK Higher and Further Education**, ( [] ) has found that almost every institution in the UK has some sort of activity in virtual worlds with Second Life and OpenSim being the most commonly used platforms. They have published many reports about the use of virtual worlds in UK higher education institutions.
 * 3) **Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference** (VWBPE) in 2007 was (the first of its kind that I know of) held totally online in a virtual world had over 1,500 avatars participating, In 2009, there were over 3,600 participants from around the world. The 2010 conference was expected to involve over 5000 participants but I can not find any data on the actual numbers at this time. (June 21, 2010).
 * 4) Live update charts of statistics about Second Life  such as concurrent log ins and sign ups per day.