Virtual Social Networks: Mediated, Massive and Multiplayer Sites

As technology changes, so too have its applications and our uses and experiences with them have changed as well. The emergence of new technologies offer opportunities for new ways of interacting, playing, working and learning. It is within the context of simultaneous excitement and anxiety that we discuss Virtual Social Networks. Dr NIKI PANTELI has carried out a substantial research activity in the field of virtuality. She is the Chair of the IFIP W.G. 9.5 'Virtuality& Society', and the Director for the Centre for Information Management at the University of Bath, UK. She is the co-editor of Exploring Virtuality within and beyond Organizations, Social, Global and Local Dimensions, Palgrave-Macmillan (2008). Virtual Social Networks: A New Dimension for Virtuality Research; N.Panteli Learning Virtually or Virtually Distracted? The Impact of Emerging Internet Technologies on Pedagogical Practice; S.K.Grewal  & L.Harris VU @ Second Life : A Report on Experiences with the Development of a (Virtual) Community of Learners; F.Feldberg , A.Elins , S.van der Land , M.Huysman &  E.Konijn Patient Preferences for Online Person-Person Support; R.Jones , M.Kamel Boulos , C.Maramba , H.Skirton &  J.Freeman The Social Impact of Online Games - The Case of Germany; T.Quandt  & J.Wimmer The Sexi(E)St Of All: Avatars, Gender, And Online Games; M.Consalvo & T.Harper What Users Of Virtual Social Networks Value About Social Interaction: The Case of Greypath; O.K.Burmeister Labour's Second Life: From A Virtual Strike To Union Island; B.Robinson Community as Commodity: Social Networking And Transnational Capitalism; D.Kreps  & E.Pearson Virtual Intimacy: Desire and Ideology in Virtual Social Networks; R.Grassman  & P.Case