Patent ID: 8239776

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, comprising: initiating a search for at least one avatar following a target avatar under control of a user within a virtual world; as a result of the search, identifying one or more avatars suspected of following the target avatar based on predetermined criteria by at least one of (i) identifying one or more avatars present in the same virtual location as the target avatar, and (ii) identifying one or more avatars within a defined hearing range of the target avatar; excluding, from the identified one or more avatars, any avatar that represents at least one of: (i) a friend of the user, (ii) an acquaintance of the user, and (iii) a second user engaged in a conversation with the user; determining one or more characteristics of movements of the identified one or more avatars within the virtual world; upon determining that the one or more characteristics of movements indicate a presence of at least one of the identified one or more avatars in at least one virtual location during at least some of the time that the target avatar was also present in the at least one virtual location, calculating a likelihood that the presence was due to random probability; upon determining that the calculated likelihood is below a predefined threshold, determining that the at least one of the identified one or more avatars is following the target avatar; and blocking the at least one of the identified one or more avatars from entering a current virtual location of the target avatar.