Many virtual world technologies focus the majority of their development efforts on providing detailed 3D graphical environments. As a result, the emphasis in each virtual zone is on making connections with people through deep, rich social interactions. Avaterra's avatars are visual, colorful, and animated, delivering a whole new dimension to the online experience. Each avatar has four different facial expressions, five gestures, and three styles of movement. VZones enables a wide variety of objects that people can obtain and own within a virtual world.
Objects enhance an avatar's identity and add realism to the overall experience.
VZones allows for a thriving internal economy in which members can buy and sell virtual objects with the tokens they earn. The persistence of all elements mentioned above creates a strong sense of continuity for the user from visit to visit. As in real life, persistence and continuity help bond people together, which in turn creates community. Several established Avaterra virtual worlds are now available on the Internet and may be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection and web browser. Active since 1995, Dreamscape is the industry's most successful avatar community.