BOSTON GLOBE - Nov 8 - Virtual worlds have
been generating lots of buzz since Second Life launched in 2003 and is
expected to hit $1 billion in the US. Pano Anthos flew out to San
Francisco to unveil his new start-up, Hangout Industries, at
TechCrunch50. Hangout intended to attract young Internet users and
allow them to deck out online rooms with all sorts of branded
merchandise. This week, Hangout will be beginning a limited beta test
of a new version of its product, and Viximo, a Cambridge start-up, says
it’s on the verge of disclosing several big partnerships. Viximo helps
website operators add virtual goods to their sites. On a dating site
one single might pay $6 or $12 to send another an animation of “two
peas in a pod dancing around with music,’’ CEO Dayna Grayson explains.
Viximo has established a network of artists who constantly create new
virtual goods, and then distributes them to sites like BlackSingles.com
and Zorpia, a social network based in Australia. FULL ARTICLE @ BOSTON GLOBE