Patent ID: 8219388

Claim:
A user voice mixing device used in a virtual space sharing system in which a plurality of information processing devices share a virtual space, said user voice mixing device comprising: means for receiving voice data representing a voice uttered by a first user of one of the plurality of information processing devices and a first region corresponding to a first position coordinate of the first the user in the virtual space; means for storing predetermined environmental sounds in association with each of one or more regions defined in the virtual space; means for acquiring a second position corresponding to a second user in the virtual space, who receives the voice data of the first at the user voice mixing device; means for specifying a second region corresponding to the second user according to the second acquired position coordinate, the second region being different from the first region; means for creating mixed voice data by acquiring a first predetermined environmental sound associated with the first region received by the means for receiving from the means for storing, and mixing the acquired first predetermined environmental sound and the voice data, and acquiring a second predetermined environmental sound associated with the second region corresponding to the second user, and mixing the voice data with the first predetermined environmental sound associated with the first region corresponding to the user and the second predetermined environmental sound associated with the second region corresponding to the second user; and means for outputting the mixed voice data, wherein said acquired first environmental sound is independent of the voice data and not directly associated with the acquired position coordinate of the user, and wherein, when said voice data, said first environmental sound and said second environmental sound occur at a same time, said voice data is mixed with said first and second environmental sounds to generate a modified output indicative of said first and second environmental sounds reducing the comprehensibility of said voice data.