Abstract:
A method of providing personal service assistance in a virtual universe is disclosed. The method provides a customer avatar (CA) access to a personal assistance avatar or personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar, hereinafter PCSR avatar. Through the PCSR avatar, the CA communicates a need or requests for personal service assistance from a business or organization. The communication of the received request is processed to identify an appropriate business, organization or vendor that meets the need or request. The identified business, organization or vendor is contacted for a representative from the business to accede to the request from the CA. The representative from the business is allowed to assume control of the PCSR avatar to conduct the session necessary for rendering the assistance or transaction. Upon completion of the session, control of the PCSR avatar is reverted to that prior to the session.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application is related in some aspects to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/144,788, entitled “COMPETITIVE SALES ENVIRONMENT IN A VIRTUAL WORLD,” which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This disclosure relates generally to virtual universes, and more specifically to personal customer services within a virtual universe. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Virtual universes or virtual worlds are computer-based simulated environments intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars, which are personas or representations of the users of the virtual universes and generally take the form of two-dimensional or three-dimensional human or fantastical representations of a person&#39;s self. These types of virtual universes are now most common in massive multiplayer online games, such as Second Life® which is a trademark of Linden Research in the United States, other countries, or both. Other examples of virtual universes include Project Entropia Universe®, a trademark of Mindark PE AB in the US, other countries or both; There SM .com, a service mark of Makena Technologies, Inc. in the US, other countries or both; Kaneva® Game Platform (KGP), a trademark owned by Kaneva, Inc. in the US, other countries or both. 
     Avatars in these types of virtual universes, which can number well over a million, have a wide range of business and social experiences. These avatars create, manipulate and buy and sell every aspect of their virtual lives. As a result, these virtual universes provide a fertile ground for exchanging items created for use by the avatars that exist in these virtual universes. An illustrative listing of some items that are created and exchanged in a virtual universe include apparel for avatars, animations for a multitude of purposes (e.g., instructional material), avatar accessories (e.g., jewelry, hairpieces, etc.), scripts for performing certain functions in the virtual universes, building components, avatar appearance features, recreation and equipment (e.g., dancing poles), automobiles, etc. 
     Avatars may find business transactions or shopping assuming the model of internet shopping in the virtual universe limiting or not user friendly. In many instances, consumer avatars may find it time consuming to search for an appropriate item or service that is suitable to their needs. This may apply to personal shopping or even corporate shopping. For example, an avatar making a purchase decision for printer toners may desire assistance for a more informative purchase and to save time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method of providing personal service assistance in a virtual universe is disclosed. The method, executable by a computer system may be embodied in a computer readable medium for deployment thereof. The method provides a CA (CA) access to a personal assistance avatar or personal customer service representative avatar, hereinafter PCSR avatar. Through the PCSR avatar, the CA communicates a need or request for personal service assistance from a business or organization. The communication of the received request is processed to identify an appropriate business or organization that meets the need or request. The identified business or organization is contacted for a representative from the business to accede to the request from the CA. The representative from the business or organization is allowed to assume control of the PCSR avatar to conduct the session necessary for rendering the assistance or transaction. Upon completion of the session, control of the PCSR avatar is reverted to that prior to the session. 
     A first aspect of the invention provides a method for rendering personal service assistance in a virtual universe, comprising: providing access to a personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar, wherein the PCSR avatar interacts with a customer avatar (CA); defining a request for customer service from the CA via the PCSR avatar; determining a business based upon the request for customer service from the CA; connecting the PCSR avatar to the business; and facilitating an interaction between a representative of the business and the CA via the PCSR avatar. 
     A second aspect of the invention provides a system for rendering personal service assistance in a virtual universe, comprising: a personal customer service component stored in a memory and executable by a processing unit, the personal customer service component comprising: an access component configured to enable a customer avatar (CA) to access and interact with a personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar; a definition component configured to receive a request for personal service assistance from the CA through the PCSR avatar; a determination component configured to determine a business based upon the request for personal service from the CA; and a facilitator component configured to facilitate an interaction between a representative of the business and the CA by assuming control over the PCSR avatar. 
     A third aspect of the invention provides a computer program product stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer program product including computer instructions, which when executed, enables a computer system to render personal service assistance in a virtual universe, the computer instructions comprising: providing access to a personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar, wherein the PCSR avatar interacts with a customer avatar (CA); defining a request for customer service from the CA via the PCSR avatar; determining a business based upon the request for customer service from the CA; connecting the PCSR avatar to the business; and facilitating an interaction between a representative of the business and the CA via the PCSR avatar. 
     A fourth aspect of the invention provides a method for deploying an application in a computer system that renders personal service assistance in a virtual universe, comprising: providing a computer infrastructure operable to: provide access to a personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar, wherein the PCSR avatar interacts with a customer avatar (CA); define a request for customer service from the CA via the PCSR avatar; determine a business based upon the request for customer service from the CA; connect the PCSR avatar to the business; and facilitate an interaction between a representative of the business and the CA via the PCSR avatar. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various embodiments are described in the following detailed description with accompanying drawings depicting the various aspects of the invention to provide a better appreciation of the invention, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a high-level schematic diagram showing a networking environment for providing a virtual universe according to one embodiment of this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a more detailed view of a virtual region within the virtual universe shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary example of a method for providing personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar services in assisting a CA; 
         FIG. 4  is a hierarchal layout of an embodiment a registry database of the method shown in  FIG. 3 ; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a schematic of an exemplary computing environment in which elements of  FIGS. 1-4  may operate. 
     
    
    
     It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements among the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of this invention are directed to a technique for facilitating exchange of items/services in a virtual universe. The exchange of items/services may be in the form of bartering, auctioning, trading, or selling through a personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar. The features of this invention provide the capability to match buyers desiring specific items/services with businesses/vendors that are in possession of these items/services. 
       FIG. 1  shows a high-level schematic diagram showing a networking environment  10  for providing a virtual universe  12  according to one embodiment of this invention in which a service for facilitating exchange of items/services between two parties through a PCSR avatar. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the networking environment  10  comprises a server array or grid  14  comprising a plurality of servers  16  each responsible for managing a portion of virtual real estate within the virtual universe  12 . A virtual universe provided by a typical massive multiplayer online game can employ thousands of servers to manage all of the virtual real estate. The content of the virtual real estate that is managed by each of the servers  16  within the server array  14  shows up in the virtual universe  12  as a virtual region  18 . The number of virtual regions  18  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is only for illustration purposes and those skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be many more regions found in a typical virtual universe, or within one region in a small virtual universe.  FIG. 1  also shows that users operating computers  11  interact with the virtual universe  12  through a communication network  17  via a virtual universe client  19  that resides in an exemplary computer  202  ( FIG. 5 ). Details of such an exemplary computer  202  are discussed in the following paragraphs corresponding to  FIG. 5 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , each virtual region  18  within the virtual universe  12  comprises a living landscape as in the real-world. Each virtual region  18  may include, for example, but not limited to cities and towns with commercial zones  22 , residential zones  24  and recreational zones  26 . Each commercial zone  22  may include, for example, but is not limited to convention centers  210 , commercial buildings  212  and other architectures for various commercial activities. Each residential zone  24  may include but is not limited to condominiums  222 , housing estates  224  and other residential neighborhoods. Each recreational zone  26  may include facilities for example, but not limited to clubs, gyms, parks, theatres, boutiques, restaurants and malls. All of such commercial buildings, neighborhoods and facilities are created by virtual communities formed by residents of the virtual universe represented by avatars. Furthermore, the types of facilities that make up the living landscape in virtual regions  18  shown in  FIG. 2  are only for illustration purposes and may include other facilities not explicitly set out herein, for example, but not limited to: welfare zones, religious community zones and public amenities zones. 
     One of the ways that users of the virtual universe  12  can use the virtual universe client  19  to interact with the universe is to create digital content/services or items for the virtual universe. An illustrative but non-limiting listing of items that can be created through the virtual universe client  19  includes items such as apparel for avatars, animations for a multitude of purposes (instructional material), avatar accessories (e.g., jewelry, hairpieces, clothing, etc.), services (e.g., grooming, legal, hospitality, health and well-being, culinary training, diving lessons, virtual real estate brokerage, etc.) scripts for performing certain functions in the virtual universes, building components, avatar appearance features, recreation and equipment (e.g., bicycles), automobiles, etc. Such digital content/services or items may be traded amongst individual avatars within a virtual community or between virtual communities of a virtual region(s)  18  or between virtual region(s)  18  in the virtual universe  12 . 
     As mentioned above, embodiments of this invention are directed to facilitating the exchange of these types of services/items between avatars that reside in the virtual universe  12  and providing a mechanism to facilitate trading or transactions of the content/services or items. For example, if a CA (CA)  302  ( FIG. 3 ) wishes to purchase an item or requires a certain service, the avatar accesses a single personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar  312  ( FIG. 3 ) and communicates his/her needs through the single PCSR avatar  312  to an actual customer service representative  310  ( FIG. 3 ) of a business/organization. For example, the CA  302  may wish to purchase some athletic apparel, have a haircut and arrange for a reunion party. The CA  302  may access and communicate his/her need(s)/request(s) to the single PCSR avatar  312 . The single PCSR avatar  312  may communicate the need(s)/request(s) to the respective customer service departments (not shown) of relevant retailers of athletic apparel, service providers for haircuts and events organizers/planers. More particularly, through the PCSR avatar  312 , each customer service of the relevant businesses/organization (not shown) may attend to the need(s)/request(s) of the CA  302  ( FIG. 3 ), providing immediate and direct attention in the setting of a designated store/customer service office. 
     In the example of the athletic apparel, the CA may be attended to by a customer service representative  310  ( FIG. 3 ) of a particular business (e.g., Nike®, Inc., PUMA®AG Rudolf Dassler Sport, Patagonia®, Inc., Prana®, Inc. etc.) in a virtual retail store setting (not shown) to assist in the selection of the desired athletic apparel of the CA  302  through a PCSR avatar. In the example of the hair dressing service, the CA  302  may be attended to by a customer service representative of a particular hairdressing service at a virtual salon (not shown) within the virtual universe to assist in the haircut or hairstyling of the CA  302  through a PCSR avatar  312 . In the example of the reunion party, a CA  302  may be attended to by a customer service representative  310  ( FIG. 3 ) of an events management service provider (not shown) to assist in the selection of the desired theme, the menu of the reunion party of the CA  302  through a PCSR avatar  312 . 
     The customer service representative  310  of any one service provider or business entity (e.g., an athletic apparel brand, a hair salon, an events management company) may assume control of the PCSR avatar  312  at any one point in time to assist or address the need(s)/request(s) of the CA  302 . 
     Below are additional details on the customer service representative mechanism of this invention and how it enables CAs (CA) to obtain services or items in the virtual universe  12  from a plurality of unrelated businesses. 
       FIG. 2  shows a more detailed view of what one virtual region  18  shown in the virtual universe  12  of  FIG. 1 . As an example, the virtual region  18  shown in  FIG. 2  comprises a downtown commercial zone  22 , residential zone  24 , recreational zone  26 . Commercial zone  22  may include a convention center  210  for various meetings/conventions and commercial buildings  212  for offices of various businesses. Residential zone  24  may include, for example, but is not limited to: landed housing estates  224  and condominiums  222 . Recreational zone  26  may include businesses or services, for example, but not limited to: jeweler  202 , boutiques  204 , ice-cream cafés  205 , theatre  206 , movie theatres  208  and restaurants  209 . Residents or avatars  38 , which are personas or representations of the users of the virtual universe, commute or roam all about the virtual region  18  to conduct their personal or official business by walking, driving, flying or even by teleportation or transportation which is essentially moving through space from one point to another, more or less instantaneously. Personal or official business may include, for example, but not limited to: commuting to work in offices in commercial buildings  212  in the commercial zone  22 ; and attending a theatre performance in a theatre in the recreational zone  26 . These examples of activities/items in the virtual region  18  shown in  FIG. 2  are only illustrative of some things/activities/businesses that may be found in a virtual region  18  and those skilled in the art will recognize that these regions  18  can have many more items that can be found in a real-life universe as well as things that do not presently exist in real life. 
       FIG. 3  shows a logic flow  30  of an exemplary example of a method for providing personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar  312  services in assisting a CA  302  in the virtual universe  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . Through virtual universe client  19  ( FIG. 1 ), users may interact with the virtual universe  12  as CA  302 . The method disclosed herein may also be applicable to any three dimensional (3-D) internet space where participating businesses conduct business transactions. The logic flow  30  includes process S 1  where CA  302  accesses a PCSR avatar  312  and communicates the desired need(s)/request(s) to the PCSR avatar  312 . As the communication proceeds, logic flow in process S 2  parses the text of the communication to determine the need(s)/request(s) required. The method may include a database  305  where a listing of businesses/vendors of various businesses and the relevant contacts/relationships may be retrieved in process S 3  or where general contact information, may be retrieved in process S 4 . After contact has been established, logic flow control is returned to PCSR avatar  312  from a search agent in database  305  in process S 5 . With customer service representative (CSR)  310  of contacted business/vendor assuming temporary control of PCSR avatar  312  in process S 6 , interaction and/or any transaction between CA  302  and CSR  310  may be conducted through PCSR avatar  312  until transaction is completed or terminated. Details of each of the processes S 1 -S 6  are discussed in details in the following paragraphs. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , CA  302  gains access to PCSR avatar  312  in process S 1  to convey any desired need(s)/request(s) using currently known or later developed communication techniques. PSCR avatar  312  may be a self-created avatar or an integrated service provided by an owner of the virtual universe  12 . PCSR  312  is, by default, set under the control of an agent, for example, an artificial intelligence (AI) or a “Personal Assistant BOT”, which is a web-based robot that is essentially a software application for performing automated tasks over the internet. However, the default setting can be changed in another embodiment. The PCSR avatar  312  may be accessed via a non-locale specific function, for example, but not limited to: an on-screen radial button, a mouse, a pendant in the CA inventory and any currently known of later developed remote access techniques. When the need(s)/request(s) of CA  302  is conveyed to PCSR avatar  312 , the agent at control by default provides to CA  302  with a response, for example, “Please hold while I check for you” as the logic commence execution. 
     In process S 2  shown in  FIG. 3 , the need(s)/request(s) communicated by CA  302  to PCSR avatar  312  are converted to text and compared with standard phrases or keywords via keyword detection module  304 . The parsing of text provides an avenue to simplify determinative logic. For example, the text communicated by CA  302  may be “connect to XYZ billing” where the Personal Assistant BOT interprets such a text communication as a desire of CA  302  to be connected to the billing department of the business/vendor of XYZ. In the case where abbreviated text is used in the communication between CA  302  and PCSR avatar  312 , the agent would interpret such abbreviated text in the manner as commonly applied in instant messaging. For example, abbreviated text, “BRB”, is widely interpreted as “I will be right back”; similarly, “C2 XYZ” is interpreted as “connected to XYZ”. Interpretation of abbreviated or cryptic text according to a standard or pre-defined phrases/keywords reduces complexity for detection of logic, particularly where different users interacting in virtual universe  12  as CA  302  may express himself/herself in a differentiated manner. For instance, one user may express his request as “access XYZ” while another may express her request as “connect me to XYZ”, where both may be interpreted primarily as “C2 XYZ”. With simplified determinative logic, the need(s)/request(s) of CA  302  may be processed or interpreted accordingly with reduced difficulty and complexity. 
     In process S 3  as shown in  FIG. 3 , following simplification of determinative logic, a relational database (RDB)  305  is accessed for relevant businesses/vendors that match the need(s)/request(s) of CA  302 . RDB  305  may include, for example, general contact information of different departments in a business/vendor, relevant contact information of each department within a business/vendor and specific contact information of each specific department/division in a business/vendor. Alternatively, relevant contact information pertaining to each specific department/division in a business/vendor may be organized in a registry database  306  and general information pertaining to businesses/vendors may be organized in a keyword database. In an exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , RDB database  305  may be organized to include registry database  306  and keyword database  308 . Such information may be retrievable/extractable through a search logic according to the interpreted communications determined in process S 2 . while keyword database  308  may contain. In the case where CA  302  communicates a request to connect to the printer division of International Business Machine (IBM) with communication “C2 IBM Printer”, the RDB  305  search logic retrieves the current contact data of IBM&#39;s printer division and the agent executes the connection using currently known or later developed techniques. The search logic passes through a series of hierarchal levels  400 ,  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408  and  410  ( FIG. 4 ) to retrieve the relevant contact information. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a hierarchal layout  40  of a registry database  306  including a collection of different businesses/vendors  400  (e.g., IBM, XYZ, YYY, ZZZ, etc.) providing similar or related services. Each business/vendor  400  in the hierarchal layout  40  includes various hierarchal layers/levels  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408  and  410 . For example, within IBM, the hierarchal levels include products  402 , servers  404 , storage  406 , printers  408  and alert  410 . However, at each hierarchal level the features/services between different business/vendor may be different. For example, comparing XYZ with IBM, at hierarchal level  402 , XYZ features services while IBM features products; at hierarchal level  404 , XYZ features wireless while IBM features servers; at hierarchal level  406 , XYZ features home while IBM features storage; and at hierarchal level  408 , XYZ features business while IBM features printers. On retrieving/extracting the relevant contact information for IBM&#39;s printer division, an alert  410  is sent to notify the retrieved/extracted contact. In the exemplary example in  FIG. 4 , alert  410  is conveyed via email. However, alternative techniques that are currently known or later developed may be adopted as a means of alerting the relevant contact(s) of a designated business/vendor. 
     In the case where the search returns no result from the RDB in registry database  306 , the logic flow to keyword database  308  to execute a similar search to return a result with general information of multiple likely vendors without any set relationships as contact information obtained from registry database  306 . For example, CA  302  may enter “C2 XYZ mobile wireless”, but a search in the registry database  306  return no relevant contact information for XYZ mobile wireless, the PCSR avatar  312  may respond by suggesting results obtained from keyword database  306  with “No available contact information on XYZ mobile wireless. Do you want to contact XYZ wireless instead?” 
     General contact information from keyword database obtained in process S 4  ( FIG. 3 ) may also serve as a primary avenue in selecting a vendor where the CA  302  has only a general idea of what is desired to meet his/her needs but has not established any specific requirements/criteria as a specific brand/business/vendor. For example, where CA  302  enters “C2 wireless phone”, the PCSR avatar  312  may respond by suggesting results obtained from keyword database  306  with “Do you want to contact XYZ, YYY or ZZZ?” 
     Once a selection is made, customer service representative (CSR)  310  of a particular business/vendor is contacted in process S 5  and control is passed from registry database  306  back to PCSR avatar  312  using currently known or later developed connection techniques. 
     According to process S 6 , the CSR  310  assumes control of the PCSR avatar  312  to render the necessary assistance to address the need(s)/request(s) of the CA  302 . CSR  310  may be controlled by human or another agent of artificial intelligence (AI). Through this connection a session for interaction/negotiation/transaction between remote business/vendor and the user can be conducted through CSR  310  of selected remote business/vendor and the CA  302 . In a preferred embodiment, CSR  310  may take temporary control of PCSR avatar  312 , where the underlying agent (i.e., personal assistant BOT or any other similar agent) may become a pass-through/sleeping agent for the duration of the session. Upon disconnection/termination of the session, the agent returns to normal logic/operational state (i.e., control is transferred from CSR  310  to the agent). In each of the embodiments, the transition of control of PCSR avatar  312  between human intervention and the agent is not apparent to the user interacting through CA  302 . 
     Process S 6  may include providing an effect of “bring the environment of a relevant business/store” to CA  302  on assuming control of the PCSR avatar  312 . In one embodiment, the screen displayed to the CA  302  may be replaced with a template of the associated business providing an effect of “bring the store” to the CA  302 . For example, when an IBM CSR  310  from the selected IBM printer division is connected and assumes control of the PCSR avatar  312 , a predetermined IBM printer store background is loaded onto the screen to provide the CA  302  with the feel/effect of “being in the store” where the session is conducted. On termination of the session, the CA  302  is returned to the previous screen before the session. In another embodiment, CA  302  is automatically teleported to the virtual location of CSR  310  for the session and returned upon completion/termination of the session to the virtual environment before the session. In yet another embodiment, CA  302  is redirected to, or offered a browser screen to access on-line support from the desired business via a web interface, which may also include serving the business “live chat” interface to CA  302 . 
     In another embodiment, the methodologies disclosed herein provide a business method that performs the processes of the methodologies on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis. A service provider can create, maintain, support, etc., a computer system that performs the processes of the invention for one or more customers. In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertising space to one or more third parties. 
     In still another embodiment, the methodologies disclosed herein can be used within a computer system to facilitate personal customer services within a virtual universe. In this case one or more systems for performing the processes described in the invention (e.g., logic flow  30 ) can be obtained and deployed to a computer infrastructure. To this extent, the deployment can comprise one or more of (1) installing program code on a computing device, such as a computer system, from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding one or more computing devices to the infrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of the infrastructure to enable the infrastructure to perform the process actions of the invention. 
       FIG. 5  shows a schematic of an exemplary computing environment  500  in which elements of the networking environment shown in  FIG. 1  may operate. The exemplary computing environment  500  is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the approach described herein. Neither should the computing environment  500  be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     In the computing environment  500  there is a computer  502  which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with an exemplary computer  502  include, but are not limited to, personal computers (PC), server computers, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. 
     The exemplary computer  502  may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on, that performs particular tasks or implements particular abstract data types. The exemplary computer  502  may be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the computer  502  in the computing environment  500  is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of computer  502  may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units  504 , a system memory  506 , and a bus  508  that couples various system components including the system memory  506  to the processor  504 . 
     Bus  508  represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus. 
     The computer  502  typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer  502 , and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. 
     In  FIG. 5 , the system memory  506  includes computer readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)  510 , and/or non-volatile memory, such as ROM  512 . A BIOS  514  containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer  502 , such as during start-up, is stored in ROM  512 . RAM  510  typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently operated on by processor  504 . 
     Computer  502  may further include other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. By way of example only,  FIG. 5  illustrates a hard disk drive  516  for reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”), a magnetic disk drive  518  for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk  520  (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive  522  for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk  524  such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media. The hard disk drive  516 , magnetic disk drive  518 , and optical disk drive  522  are each connected to bus  508  by one or more data media interfaces  526 . 
     The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for computer  502 . Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk  516 , a removable magnetic disk  518  and a removable optical disk  522 , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, RAMs, ROM, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. 
     A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk  516 , magnetic disk  520 , optical disk  522 , ROM  512 , or RAM  510 , including, by way of example, and not limitation, an operating system  528 , one or more application programs  530 , other program modules  532 , and program data  534 . Each of the operating system  528 , one or more application programs  530 , other program modules  532 , and program data  534  or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of the networking environment  10  of  FIG. 1  including the server array  14 , the virtual universe client  19 , according to a logic flow  30  ( FIG. 3 ) for providing personal customer service through PCSR avatar  312 . 
     A user may enter commands and information into computer  502  through optional input devices such as a keyboard  536  and a pointing device  538  (such as a “mouse”). Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, serial port, scanner, camera, or the like. These and other input devices are connected to the processor unit  504  through a user input interface  540  that is coupled to bus  508 , but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). 
     An optional monitor  542  or other type of display device is also connected to bus  508  via an interface, such as a video adapter  544 . In addition to the monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers, which may be connected through output peripheral interface  546 . 
     Computer  502  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote server/computer  548 . Remote computer  548  may include many or all of the elements and features described herein relative to computer  502 . 
     Logical connections shown in  FIG. 5  are a local area network (LAN)  550  and a general wide area network (WAN)  552 . Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  502  is connected to LAN  550  via network interface or adapter  554 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer typically includes a modem  556  or other means for establishing communications over the WAN  552 . The modem, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus  508  via the user input interface  540  or other appropriate mechanism. 
     In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer  502 , or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation,  FIG. 5  illustrates remote application programs  558  as residing on a memory device of remote computer  548 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown and described are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used. 
     An implementation of an exemplary computer  502  may be stored on or transmitted across some form of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise “computer storage media” and “communications media.” 
     “Computer storage media” include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer. 
     “Communication media” typically embodies computer readable media containing computer instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as carrier wave or other transport mechanism. Communication media also includes any information delivery media. 
     The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media. 
     It is apparent that there has been provided with this invention an approach for redistributing licensed items in a virtual universe. While the invention has been particularly shown and described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.