At the launch next month, CommerceCity will have 20 merchants accessible via the virtual world, growing to 50 within three months, said Shaffer. Merchants include Spiegel, Geico Insurance, TechWave and others, Shaffer said. CyberWorld is working with local radio stations in 20 cities to drive users to the RadioWorld portion of CommerceCity, and then into the merchant's virtual stores, Shaffer said. CommerceCity rides on top of Fujitsu's existing WorldsAway technology and virtual community, which already boasts 30,000 regular users. Shaffer hopes to boost that number into the millions over the next few years.
Users can visit shops, set up a virtual homestead, talk with other avatars and more.
The early adopters are the bulk of the early users of e-commerce on the Web, but they are a minority in the real world. While virtual community technology may still be ahead of its time, CommerceCity is banking on its long-term viability.