Roam Un-Free – Jonathan Adams

Newsweek reports on China’s own virtual world HiPiHi. Read also Kaiser Kuo’s comments on the Ogilvy China Digital Watch blog. From Newsweek:

070720 Ov13 XtrwideHiPiHi appears to be on track to becoming the first homegrown Chinese competitor to Second Life, the virtual world that’s all the rage in the United States. HiPiHi’s 38-year-old CEO and founder, Xu Hui, has ambitious goals: he plans to sign up 100,000 users in the first three months. Then he wants to branch out through partnerships with U.S., Japanese and other foreign firms to establish discrete virtual “continents.” Ultimately, he sees a handful of virtual worlds, including HiPiHi and Second Life, linked up in one vast universe. “We’re on the same road to a dream”virtual worlds are just beginning,” says Xu. [Full text]

See a video introducing HiPiHi via YouTube:



[Image: HiPiHi founder Xu Hui (left), and the virtual world he oversees; By Mark Leong / Redux for Newsweek (left); and Courtesy HiPiHi]

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