Tried out another virtual world just now – [There.com](http://there.com/).
It felt easier to install than Second Life, and there didn’t seem to be as great a lag either.
However the target audience is teens, and very obviously so. If you like the way the Sims look, you may like There. However, if you already play the Sims Online, why would you move over to There?
Also, the graphics are cheerful, but not that hot. I guess there must be a payoff. If you want things to load fast, don’t expect beautiful rendering. Overall I still like Second Life more, even though the user interface is much more intimidating. There.com gave me the impression that things were under simplified and under control.
While it’s free to be There, there’s also [premium membership](https://webapps.prod.there.com/login/login?redirect=%2fmemprog%2fmemprog) at the rate of US$9.95 per month. Would the target audience be willing to fork out that amount? I can imagine they’d rather spend it on an iTunes album, if they’re not downloading stuff illegally.
I’m also curious as to how many Singaporean youngsters are aware of There. I know some are in Second Life but most probably prefer MMORPG like DOTA. That’s what my boy cousins are raving about whenever they meet.
Maybe There.com’s CEO can tell me more when I meet him at [State of Play](http://www.nyls.edu/stateofplay) today.
ps. I don’t like how we have to use Internet Explorer instead of Firefox to access There.com services.