Multi-User Interactive Virtual Environment System and Method

Abstract

A system and method for providing interactive graphical and multi-media connectivity between a plurality of users, especially in the context of shared content. In aspects, the users are placed into common virtual rooms or virtual interactive environments to permit sharing of content and chat between the individuals in a same virtual interactive environment. A common theme or subject of interest can be a basis for creating one or more virtual interactive environments or virtual rooms that users may be placed into or move between. Other features and associated functions are also described.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/796,538, filed on Nov. 14, 2012, and to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/854,815, filed on May 2, 2013, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the user experiences in software applications that allow sharing of virtual spaces such as online interactive environments allowing users to interactively experience a medium as well as to communicate with one another in that context.

BACKGROUND

Conferencing over a network connection (sometimes called virtual conferencing) and screen sharing software are known in the computing and communication fields. For example, Skype® is a service providing near real-time voice and video connectivity between two or more subscribers. A first subscriber who has a registered identity and membership to the service makes contact with another registered subscriber and requests a connection. The service determines the availability of the second subscriber and a call request is presented to the second subscriber similar to a telephone call but in a computer application running on the subscribers' computers. A conference of several subscribers can be arranged as well.

Computer-based telephony can also connect a plurality of registered users to one another in an online-supported conference call. Other applications and services, e.g., Citrix®, provide shared screen experiences and remote screen sharing and control. Yet others provide interactive whiteboarding experiences where two or more users can see each others' actions entered onto a computer based window.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a screen shot of an application having a user interface window 10, WebEx®, providing real-time video conferencing among a group of users 108. This example is presented here generically to describe this type of art, and not by way of explaining any specific aspect of a named piece of prior art or product. A user 106 can be the host of the conference (initiates it and coordinates its start and stop). Another user 104 can be displayed in a highlighted or enlarged window when he or she is speaking (has the microphone). Chat sessions 102 can be displayed in other portions of the user interface 10 of the application. In addition, the users can share graphical content 100 that is shown in yet another portion of user interface 10.

Since the moderator or host 106 creates the session as a virtual meeting for collaboratively sharing content 100 and discussion, the session is dedicated to the topic chosen by the host 106. A known problem with such scenarios is that once the number of participants exceeds some number, it becomes difficult or impossible for each of them to receive meaningful attention or have an active participation, akin to the problem known as the “cocktail party effect” in some contexts, where too many people in a room cause a nonlinear escalation of the din of conversation so that nearly nobody can conduct a conversation any more.

Other challenges to existing systems that remain unfulfilled or sub-optimal include that proper shared user experiences require near real-time synchronization between the participants. Also, most such existing systems are based on desktop computing platforms and require substantial computing resources (bandwidth, memory, computing cycles) and do not lend themselves well to compact personal devices such as mobile smartphones, tablets and the like. The present disclosure addresses these and other shortcomings of the existing art.

SUMMARY

A system and method for providing interactive graphical and multi-media connectivity between a plurality of users, especially in the context of shared content. In aspects, the users are placed into common virtual rooms or virtual interactive environments to permit sharing of content and chat between the individuals in a same virtual interactive environment. A common theme or subject of interest can be a basis for creating one or more virtual interactive environments or virtual rooms that users may be placed into or move between. Other features and associated functions are also described.

Some aspects of the invention are directed to a method for processing information in a network, comprising registering a plurality of users in a user registry by storing respective user data of said users into a first data store; identifying a theme or event of interest to at least a subset of said users; establishing a first network-accessible virtual interactive environment, having a first purpose relating to said theme or event, comprising storing first environment data and first purpose data in a second data store; permitting said one or more of said subset of users to join said first environment over said network and share virtual interactive experiences therein; dynamically creating a second network-accessible virtual interactive environment associated with said first environment and logically linked thereto in said network, including storing second environment data and second purpose data in said second data store; and permitting one or more of said subset of users to join said second environment based on one or more criteria including criteria relating to said user data and criteria based on said theme or event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the present concepts, reference is made to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an example of an abstracted user interface of a video conferencing application according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 illustrates some components of an exemplary architecture for carrying out the present inventions;

FIG. 3 illustrates a plurality of interactive virtual environments and subsets thereof;

FIG. 4 illustrates steps in an exemplary method according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a client endpoint configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for providing virtual interactive experiences. Moreover, in some regards these allow video chat, shared screens and synchronized interactions among a plurality of users using devices connected to a network. These experiences are integrated into a single user experience that can be delivered in a number of forms including companion and embedded app and extension software running on the devices of the users. The architecture is generally flexible and scalable to allow many users in many virtual interactive environments (akin to virtual rooms) to be involved at one time. Sometimes the users can see and experience each others' inputs and experiences if they are in a same virtual interactive environment (or virtual room), but in other cases, users can wander off into separate virtual interactive environments by their own actions or by an action of a controller or administrator of the system.

Common thematic experiences such as gatherings relating to an event of common interest to the users can enhance the relevance and enjoyment of the experience. In other respects, social media connections or contacts or other demographic or profile similarities can drive the formation of a group of users sharing a common virtual interactive experience in one or more virtual interactive environments. The experiences can revolve around a theme of an event, performance, occasion, televised program, sporting venue, political or cultural topic, an interactive game, or numerous other themes. Among other objects, the present method and system permits large numbers of users to coexist in a global virtual interactive environment while making helpful decisions to divide the large number of users into manageable subsets or smaller groups in distinct virtual interactive environments or virtual rooms.

In other aspects, there can be a centralized controller (machine, human, or combined) that manages the operation of the system. Rules can be implemented to protect the users' identities or other legal or moral rights implicated by operation of the system. For example, young users can be monitored as to their interactions with non-minors in the system, including by creating virtual interactive environments specifically designated for persons over (or under) certain age limits. Persons not abiding by specified terms may be rejected from a virtual interactive environment, for example for posting or presenting obscene language or content in the environment. Others may be directed or invited to virtual interactive environments based on the subject matter of their discussions or other criteria.

In an aspect, some interactive virtual environments can be made private, while others can be made public. The private rooms are not accessible to the general public, or even in some embodiments, to a registered subscriber of a service. The public environments may be open to the general public or to any member of a subscriber service, depending on the desired configuration. In an embodiment, a “party of friends” can be established where a user is invited to a virtual interactive environment because he or she has at least one friend in the environment. In other embodiments, the user may be invited to an environment because of a determination that he or she has interests in common with the other participants in the environment. The designation of environments as public or private and the selection of the options and user permissions for the same can be implemented as a filter that monitors attributes or data or characteristics of the environments, their contexts, themes and users to made this determination.

Architecturally, the present system can include several components, which will be described according to preferred exemplary embodiments, below. In some cases, a central controller manages communication signals among a plurality of locations in a connected system, for example among four or more entities in such a system, including clients and servers. Each client may be afforded two data pathways, one carrying control messages to the system's back-end servers, and the other for media services such as audio or video content.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary architecture of the present system 20 and on which the present method may be implemented. The system 20 is typically experienced by a user of a user device such as a personal computing device, tablet, smartphone or the like, which can be considered an endpoint or a conference endpoint client 200 in an arrangement of several or many such endpoints 200 in an experience sharing conference taking place. The endpoint device 200 can be a personal mobile computing communication device such as those running the iOS™ operating system from Apple, Inc. or running the Android™ operating system of Google, Inc. or the Windows™ operating system from Microsoft, Inc., or others.

The endpoint device 200 typically includes a number of input/output (I/O) and interface elements allowing easy use by a user. These include in some examples an audio output 202, a user interface 204 (which can include hardware and/or software elements), a camera 206, a microphone 208, a text input area 210, and others. In addition, the client device 200 endpoint typically includes a processor 215 capable of controlling the operation of the device by executing instructions of an operating system thereon. Some or all the instructions and data needed to operate the endpoint device 200 may be stored in a memory 212, which can include RAM, ROM, Flash or other volatile and/or non-volatile digital storage space.

As mentioned before, the endpoint client device 200 can hold and run media viewing software, browsing software, network connectivity software and other plug-ins and extensions of these to collaboratively achieve the present goals and functions.

The endpoint device 200 can communicate with a conference management server 220 and a media management unit 230. The management server 220 and media unit 230 are shown as separate entities in this example, but it is only given for the purpose of illustration. Those skilled in the art will understand that each of these components can be implemented on co-located or distributed pieces of equipment without loss of generality. A general purpose server machine or a specialized arrangement of hardware running appropriate software, typically using an operating system to manage the same, can be utilized.

In an aspect, a plug-in piece of software is installed on a client computer or other processing device (including a smart phone, tablet or similar device). The client plug-in allows a user of the client to take part in the above service. The plug-in and other software on the client computer are used to present media content and to facilitate interactive communication between a plurality of friends or users enjoying a shared virtual experience.

Conference management server 220 can also include memory 217 holding instructions and other data for use by processor 225. The conference management server 220 includes an analysis unit 224 for analyzing users and other information and data and may include a business logic unit 226 for special operations. A user database 222 includes storage space or addressable memory for user data related to the plurality of users registered to use the service or system. A conference database 228 holds data relating to one or more conferences or interactive virtual conference sessions, including conference identifying information 228a and conference membership data 228b.

Media management unit 230 may share or have its own processor 235 and/or media content database 238. It also includes a unit for media negotiations 232, which can communicate for example with the conference endpoint 200. The media management unit 230 can also include a media transmission unit 234 for managing transmission or media from media content database 238.

A gate keeper or other load balancing logic can ensure scalability to support a relatively large number of users or participants. For example, an interactive virtual environment can be limited to a maximum number of participants at any given time. Similarly, a subset of environments can be limited to a maximum number of simultaneous participants. If the maximum number has been reached, the system may not show the environment or subset as available, may show an indication that it is full, or there may be a waiting queue to join, similar to how a restaurant or physical venue may be sold out or have a waiting list.

The various components described can be subdivided in other ways than discussed in this example. Also, components shown in these examples as separate may sometimes be implemented as combined in other examples. The major parts of such a system can include client and server components in communication over a network such as the Internet or another local area or wide area network. Media content can be provided by one or more sources distributed over the network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary abstraction of interactive virtual environments from the perspective of a participant in such a shared experience or conference (taken generally in the present context with the attendant enhancements described and known in view of this disclosure). A system comprising a global environment 30 coordinated by a conference management server 310 or similar management software and/or hardware as discussed herein is used to operate the environments and coordinate the entry of users to the environments.

An endpoint client device 300 connects to the management server 310 over some communication link such as the Internet or other cabled or wireless or cellular communication network or link. In addition, other groups of endpoint clients are clustered into meaningful subsets of users 322, 324, 326 and 328 within respective interactive virtual environments. Users can navigate among or be transported in the environments according to the wishes of the users and their interests, or according to rules programmed into the system as mentioned herein. In some aspects, the system offers a global environment 330 that can support multiple hierarchies of categorization and sub-division under the umbrella of the global environment 330. Interactive virtual environments or virtual rooms can be created, manually or automatically, containing themes and discussions and participant users at a high level, intermediate level, low level and so on. In an aspect, a user can view a summary representation of similar subsets of environments to those he or she is in or is interested in. The user can then select or “favorite” a cluster or an environment in a cluster based on its summary and use this to navigate between virtual environments available.

As mentioned above, prior conferencing systems constrain users to existing interactive environments, and most commonly to a single virtual room created by a host and where all users are given a single ID with which to join the room. Here, the system can automatically spawn new and related interactive virtual environments based on any desired criteria programmed therein. An almost limitless number of such environments can be generated and associated with their own IDs and users can be dynamically placed into the environments and can control their navigation in the environments, which in turn can lead to the automatic generation of yet more environments to traverse.

In an aspect, a profile of users and environments can be created, and such profile data can contain characteristics defining the users and environments and these data can be stored as described above in databases so that one or more analytic, learning or clustering engines can be applied to that data.

The system can support virtual portals or inter-connections among a plurality of individual interactive virtual environments whereby participants may be given access to, invited to, create, delete, or move among the environments during a given session. In some aspects, the movement between one interactive virtual environment and another takes place in a single uninterrupted online session.

In an aspect, the system includes a browser extension that is installed on a client device 200. The browser extension permits the overlay of relevant information on top of the browser content. For example, by overlaying graphical, text, data, video or other information onto the browser content. In some embodiments, the system synchronizes the contents of a client browser overlay to the contents in the browser based on the address, URL or other identifier of network-available content in the browser. This concept can be extended in some embodiments not only to typical Web-based content and browsers, but to media content generally available from a source on a network, including cable television (TV) or other connected data storage locations.

In some embodiments, overlay information in the form of text boxes or “bubbles” can be placed onto a display screen of the client devices engaged in a virtual interactive session. The text bubbles can be manipulated using a client user interface so that they can be moved to a desired location on the client's screen, deleted, resized and so on. These can be in the form of dynamic video stream bubbles as well, containing any suitable media streaming content. In an embodiment, a picture of a user or participant can be animated into a video stream when an event such as touching a picture of that user or participant on a device display occurs.

Other user interface features that can be incorporated into embodiments of the present system and method include allowing the user to control the appearance or behavior of the system by touching, swiping or making other gestures to an input device (e.g., a touch-sensitive device screen), or by shaking the device to affect a built-in accelerometer.

In other aspects, users of mobile tablets, smartphones and similar devices can jot hand-written annotations on the screens of their devices during a live video chat session with friends and others in a shared interactive virtual environment. This information can be in the form of an overlay to the underlying video chat content and other URL or network-derived context.

In yet another aspect, a host or master user can be defined for a given interactive session involving a plurality of participants. Herein, if and when the master user changes the base address or URL for the session, the experiences of the other users change accordingly. So the master user can travel between one televised channel and another or between one Web site and another, making the context of the user experiences of the group change accordingly. Therefore, the group will “surf” around together, moving from one activity or context to another with the group's master user. In still another aspect, the control or identity of who is the master user can be passed from one member of the group to another member who then takes on the responsibility for controlling the context of the session. One example of the URL or context of a shared session could be a streaming movie or TV show or YouTube® or similar multimedia connection.

It can be seen therefore that a plurality of users in a session in a shared interactive virtual environment can co-browse together while engaging in video chat together and while exchanging other text or message signals among all or a subset of the users in the environment. In some aspects, a connection interface is used to manage the connectivity of users within the overall system described. In other aspects, clustering methods, implemented as executable or interpreted machine-readable instructions running in a processor may be used to achieve the above results and to configure the subsets of users sharing an interactive virtual environment.

A user can elect to leave from a shared interactive virtual environment if he or she wishes. For example, if the subject matter of the interaction is objectionable or uninteresting to the user he or she may head off to another available environment, or leave the application altogether. Users who are directed between environments or who navigate among them are tracked by previous and next pointers indicative of their movements and history in the system. These pointers can be used by the users or the system to direct the navigation or movement of the users therein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process or method 40 executed according to the present invention. The method may be computer-implemented and exploit programmed instructions residing in digital memory storage units on a computing machine that has one or more processor circuits to run the instructions. A user at an endpoint device joins a conference or navigates to an interactive virtual environment at step 401. The interactive virtual environment is a subset of global interactive virtual environments instantiated on the system. This may be done by the user manually using a user interface of the device. If the user is not a member of an environment, the conference management component may do so for him or her, as could another entity responsible for assignment of users to environments. Typically, the user can enjoy and participate in the current interactive environment using his or her device's visual interface, e.g., a display screen, along with any audio components needed at step 402. Various information and identification of the current environment and linked environments may be presented to the user at his or her endpoint device's display.

Specifically, one or more linked interactive virtual environments logically connected to the current environment may be previewed at step 403. Then, at step 404 the user may select a linked environment. The system checks if the user has a membership in the selected environment at step 420. If he or she does, the endpoint device is removed by the conference management component from the current environment at step 407 and the endpoint device is added to the newly selected environment at step 409. Otherwise, if it is not a member already, the endpoint device is added to the newly selected environment.

In one or more embodiments, the present system can support a virtual party of friends. The system or a user may initiate the party. Invitations in the form of announcements are sent to friends of the user based on known contacts in the user's phone book or social media connections list (friends list). The friends list contains friend identification information, which can be in the form of names, addresses on a network (e.g., email addresses, social networking IDs, IP addresses or handles), phone numbers, and so on. The “party” is announced to the group, for example announcing the time of the start of the party, or the number of hours and minutes till the start of the party. Each friend can accept the invitation and manually or automatically be joined into a virtual conference (party) with the other friends. Typically, this will take place over a wireless communication connection with the individuals' mobile devices, but this invention is not so limited.

In other embodiments, once a party of friends is underway, the group of participants can extend to more than just the friends of a certain user. For example, second-level or second-tier friends and contacts (that are once removed from the user) can be included. In yet another aspect, adding contacts and friends can be accomplished by tapping a “add” or “include” or “invite” or similar button or icon on a user interface displaying a list of contacts. Those skilled in the art will understand that this concept can be extended to yet further levels of connectivity among persons available to the system.

Once in the party of friends, sub-sets of the friends can establish private or semi-private interactive virtual environments in which they can more “quietly” discuss an issue of interest. The system can establish related environments like cars on a train where a passenger can move between the cars and experience the activity therein, as described elsewhere in this disclosure.

A user witnessing improper or unlawful or disruptive conduct by a participant in the party may report this person using a user interface button or icon on his or her device screen. The offending participant may be warned, moved, or cut off from the party based on the complaint or other criteria.

The user interface display of the endpoint devices can show information about the participants in the party of friends. Information such as the person's name, age, status and who they know and other interesting details can be shown over the person's picture for example if the user hovers or clicks on the picture of the participant they are interested in learning about.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary endpoint client device configuration 50, which can run for example on a client computer, tablet or smartphone or other processing apparatus. The device runs an operating system 500 that handles the major housekeeping and coordination processes on the device. An application program interface (API), for example the Netscape plugin API (NPAPI) 510 is also running on the device and interacts with Web browser 520. The NPAPI 510 can perform the following services: it can send and receive multimedia streams between the device and the servers; send and receive signaling messages; process video streams including to buffer, crop, mask, filter, etc.; and it can play a role in rendering the processed video frames.

A browser extension 525 of browser 520 is installed and can affect the contents presented by the device including those of Web page 530 as it is presented. The browser extension 525 allows the system to affect or control the Web page contents as presented to the user of the endpoint client device. It can also be used to inject scripts and/or styles into a Web page to add functionality not otherwise available in the basic Web page. In addition, the browser extension 525 permits user interface and user experience customizations and interactions, for example in controlling the type, shape, size, location and other attributes of a text box or bubble presented on an underlying screen display.

The browser extension 525 and the API plugin 510 exchange data by method invocation and event dispatching. In some aspects the API plugin may have full system privileges on the device while the browser extension 525 has limited privileges. In a specific example, the browser extension 525 is limited to only opening http-based connections (e.g., http requests and Web sockets).

The Web extension 525 can be selected by a user by clicking on it in his or her browser according to an aspect. The extension 525 will then send the media and signaling servers 550 the current URL (or channel, program code, etc.) of the page the user is browsing. The server 550 will return to the Web extension 525 a conference identification number (ID). The Web extension can use this ID to then start the API plugin 510 which in turn connects to the media servers 550 and joins the resolved conference.

In an aspect, when the plugin 510 is connected, the local stream of the user will pop up as a bubble on top of the Web page the user is viewing (or the TV channel), and this also will take place on the screens of each other participant in the environment.

Media and signaling servers 550 are coupled to each of the NPAPI plugin 510 and the browser extension 525 over respective communication links. Each user of the endpoint client devices connects to the media and signaling servers 550.

Of course the above examples are provided as examples of the operation and construction of the system and method of the invention. Many of the exemplary features of these embodiments can be revised or alternates chosen to achieve a same or equivalent end. Therefore, the invention is not limited by the above examples, and those skilled in the art are expected to find custom implementations and extensions of this disclosure suiting their applications and ends along these lines, all of which are comprehended by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for processing information in a network, comprising:

registering a plurality of users in a user registry by storing respective user data of said users into a first data store;

identifying a theme or event of interest to at least a subset of said users;

establishing a first network-accessible virtual interactive environment, having a first purpose relating to said theme or event, comprising storing first environment data and first purpose data in a second data store;

permitting said one or more of said subset of users to join said first environment over said network and share virtual interactive experiences therein;

dynamically creating a second network-accessible virtual interactive environment associated with said first environment and logically linked thereto in said network, including storing second environment data and second purpose data in said second data store; and

permitting one or more of said subset of users to join said second environment based on one or more criteria including criteria relating to said user data and criteria based on said theme or event.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking identities and actions of tracked users sharing experiences in said first environment and users sharing experiences in said second environment.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising rejecting a tracked user from said first or second environments as a result of said user data or an action of said tracked user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising inviting said subset of users to share virtual interactive experiences in said first environment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising limiting a number of users sharing virtual interactive experiences in any of said first and second environments to a predetermined number of users.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting a request from a user and transitioning the virtual interactive experience of said user from said first environment to said second environment.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising pre-determining a selected environment to which a user is assigned.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising deleting said second virtual interactive environment upon satisfaction of a given set of criteria.

9. The method of claim 8, said given set of criteria including no users remaining virtually interacting in said second environment.

10. The method of claim 1, said network comprising an Internet connection permitting one of the following interactive exchanges between said subset of users: video interaction, text message interaction, still photo interaction, live chat interaction and voice interaction.

11. The method of claim 1, said theme or event comprising a theme or event taking place on said network and accessible to each of said subset of users.

12. The method of claim 1, said subset of users comprising users having one or more common connections therebetween as identified by their respective user data.

13. The method of claim 1, said subset of users comprising users having one or more common interests therebetween as identified by their respective user data.

14. The method of claim 1, said subset of users comprising users having one or more common attributes therebetween as identified by their respective user data and corresponding to respective profiles of said users in a social networking application database.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting inputs from said subset of users and determining based on a majority scheme a course of action to take with respect to an environment or a user of said environment.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising an administrator controlled input to determine a course of action to take with respect to an environment or a user of said environment.

17. The method of claim 1, further providing said virtual interactive experiences to said users substantially in real time so that a first user and a second user in a given environment experience a shared experience substantially in real time and have inter-dependent experiences by way of their interactive experiences in said environment together.

18. The method of claim 1, said virtual interactive experiences comprising a computerized gaming experience permitting said subset of users to co-experience said computerized gaming experience substantially at the same time.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing each user participating in a given virtual interactive experience with at least two communication pathways, a first pathway for exchanging control message data and a second pathway for exchanging media services data.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing and importing social network profile information from a user so as to populate said user's user data in said first data store.

21. The method of claim 1, storing data in said first and second data stores comprising storing data into portions of a larger data store on a common data storage medium.

22. The method of claim 1, storing data in said first and second data stores comprising storing data into two separate data stores on separate data storage media.

23. A system for virtual conferencing of shared interactive virtual environments, comprising:

an endpoint device including a processor, memory and internal and external communication paths;

said endpoint device equipped with an operating system run on said processor;

said operating system supportive of at least a network browsing application;

said endpoint device further comprising an extension of said network browsing application and comprising an application program interface (API) plugin program;

a first internal communication path placing said API plugin and said network browsing application extension in communication with one another;

a second internal communication path coupling said network browsing application extension and a unit of content such as a page of content from said network browser application; and

said external communication path placing said API plugin and a server in data communication with one another, and further placing said server and said network browser application extension in data communication with one another.

24. The system of claim 23, said network browsing application comprising a Web browser.

25. The system of claim 24, said page of content comprising a Web page.

26. A method for interactive virtual environment sharing, comprising:

establishing a first interactive virtual environment in the context of a first theme;

placing a first participant in said first interactive virtual environment;

placing a second participant in said first interactive virtual environment;

providing data connectivity between said first and second participants in said first interactive virtual environment;

determining a criterion for establishing a second interactive virtual environment in the context of said first theme;

meeting said criterion for establishing said second interactive virtual environment;

automatically establishing said second interactive virtual environment in the context of said first theme;

placing said second participant in said second interactive virtual environment;

placing a third participant in said second interactive virtual environment; and

providing data connectivity between said second and said third participants in said second interactive virtual environment.