Sociable Behaviors in Virtual Worlds

When simulating three-dimensional environments populated by virtual humanoids, immersion requires the simulation of consistent social behaviors to keep the attention of the user/s while displaying realistic scenes. However, intelligent virtual actors still lack a kind of collective or social intelligence necessary to reinforce the roles they are playing in the simulated environment (e.g. a waiter, a guide, etc). Decision making for virtual agents has been traditionally modeled under self interested assumptions, which are not suitable for social multi-agent domains. Instead, artificial society models should be introduced to provide virtual actors with socially acceptable decisions, which are needed to cover the user expectations about the roles played in the simulated scenes. This chapter reviews the sociability models oriented to simulate the ability of the agents that are part of an artificial society and, thus, interact among its members. Furthemore, it also includes a full description of a social model for multi-agent systems that allows the actors to evaluate the social impact of their actions, and then to decide how to act in accordance with the simulated society. Finally, the authors show the social outcomes obtained from the simulation of a particular 3D social scenario.

Property-Based Object Management and Security

The hype of Second Life is over. But the experience of this truly exciting period lives on in many disciplines and research areas, which are developing emerging technologies in virtual, as well as augmented worlds. And as is the rule with new forming developments, the path is not yet determined and weaves through different stages and platforms, calling for additional prototypes to understand the true impact of virtual worlds, Web 3D, or Augmented Reality. Using broad strokes and looking for a common denominator, most people conclude that it is Web 2.0 with all its (social) functionality and 3D objects as the embodiment of virtual existence. Many publications discuss Web 2.0 features and applications, but most do not focus on the 3D objects in the context of virtual worlds and their implications. In this chapter, the authors examine and observe what (virtual) objects are, as well as which properties should be used for inter-world interoperability. The past technological implementations demonstrate that protecting digital media – i.e. music and video – is an endless endeavor and that no security feature is simultaneously unbreakable and usable. This does not need to be the case for 3D virtual objects because we can learn from the past and achieve a new level of protection in a rising media. In this chapter the authors propose such a solution by putting forth a general 3D object understanding that includes a look at virtual worlds such as Second Life with a feasible concept of object security. They suggest that with a new framework objects can be secured and promote additional growth within, and among, virtual worlds. They propose our Global Object Management System (GOMS) architecture as a potential solution to this challenge.

An Access Control Model for Dynamic VR Applications

There is a need for refining data security and privacy protection in virtual reality systems which are interactive, creative and dynamic, i.e. where at run-time mutually interactive objects can be added or removed in different contexts while their behavior can be modified. In virtual worlds of this kind, operations on particular objects either should or shouldn’t be allowed to users playing different roles with respect to inter-object interactions. In the VR-PR method presented in this chapter, where VR-PR stands for “Virtual Reality–Privilege Representation”, privileges are represented by pairs, each comprising an object and a meta-operation. Meta-operations are induced automatically from possible object interactions, i.e. generated using automatic analysis of the object method call graphs. Meta-operations reflect the method call scope admitted and are used in the process of creating and modifying privileges, which in turn is controlled by a validation mechanism. Expressive and flexible, privileges based on meta-operations are consistent with a set of objects composing a virtual world, as well as with the interactions between those objects, both interactions and objects permanently evolving. In this chapter it is shown in a series of use cases how the VR-PR approach can be applied to various types of object-oriented virtual worlds. The examples are followed by a broader discussion of the privilege lifecycle in the same virtual environment.

Aspect-Oriented Programming and Aspect.NET as Security and Privacy Tool for Web and 3D Web Programming

This chapter covers the use of aspect-oriented programming (AOP) and Aspect.NET, an AOP toolkit for the .NET platform, to implement Web and 3D Web security and privacy. In this chapter the author shows that AOP is quite suitable as a trustworthy software development tool. AOP and Aspect.NET basics are overviewed using simple examples. Principles of applying Aspect.NET for Web and 3D Web security and privacy implementation are also discussed. The chapter presents a library of sample aspects implementing security and privacy for Web programming.

X3D

This chapter discusses the topic security in standard based virtual worlds with emphasis on X3D as the international ISO/IEC standard for Virtual Worlds. The general security challenges in persistent and economic virtual environments are addressed as well as the importance of standardization and security as the two key success factors for reliable, cost-effective and long-term attractive Virtual World (VW) platforms. Different actual standardization approaches are opposed to the established X3D format that follows a clear security standardization path. Based on the Internet standard XML the specific advantages of X3D are emphasized, like seamless integration into Web applications and deployment of generic XML tools. The generation of encrypted and signed X3D binary files is demonstrated according to the XML Security Recommendation of the W3C consortium. In a practical session the appliance of security approaches to concrete X3D implementation projects is described from the perspective of Bitmanagement (Bitmanagement, 2009), a market leader for interactive Web3D graphics software.

“No Drama!”

This chapter argues that because in-world social relationships have value and impact on user experience, their security must be addressed by any group entering a virtual environment. Given the constraints imposed by legal structures, the coding of a world’s architecture, and social norms and expectations, what options for management of social relationships are practical and effective? A case study of one social group in the virtual world of Second Life® offers a possible model. Elf Circle is a large group that has developed a comprehensive system of social governance—still evolving—to manage social relationships and protect its members. Its policies and procedures, and the reasons for them, are reviewed with the aim of providing some governance strategies that address common issues.

Understanding Risk and Risk-Taking Behavior in Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds have seen tremendous growth in recent years. However, security and privacy risks are major considerations in different forms of commerce and exchange in virtual worlds. The studies of behavioral economics and lessons from markets provide fertile ground in the employment of virtual worlds to demonstrate study and examine behaviors. In this chapter, we address user and organizational concerns about security and privacy risks by exploring the relationships among risk, perception of risk, and economic behavior in virtual worlds. To make their interaction more effective, we recommend organizations to understand perceptions of risk in virtual worlds and then implement policies and procedures to enhance trust and reduce risk. Such understanding depends in turn on the multidisciplinary nature of cyber security economics and online behavior

Society in a Virtual World

The new virtual world created by the Internet, with its attendant new technology environment, new actors and new models of societal behavior, has given rise to unexpected and as yet to be described social phenomena. This chapter guides the reader through virtual communities on the Internet, highlighting behavioral anomalies in the community or individual. The main objective of this chapter is to introduce the reader to basic patterns of behavior which may foster illegitimate use of the Internet, including illegal activity, and security incidents. This survey of virtual communities and the threats they create to Internet security, as well as the behavioral change of individuals when exposed to the virtual world, is intended to give the reader a basis for understanding the virtual world’s impact on mankind and social reality. Such an understanding could be helpful to discern new Internet threats or to assess expected risks.

Individual Privacy and Security in Virtual Worlds

The rapid growth in online usage has resulted in greater concerns about the privacy and security of users. These concerns are no less pertinent in virtual worlds where users often undertake virtual identities that stretch the boundaries of their real-world identities. These in-world personas may be detrimental to users’ careers and reputations should their in-world activities be linked to their real-world identities in digital dossiers. This chapter reviews and classifies privacy transgressions in virtual worlds and provides an overview of technological, behavioral and policy solutions to address these transgressions. The authors conclude with a discussion of the future research and multi-sector collaboration required to integrate disparate, emerging solutions into a federated security infrastructure for the Internet and virtual worlds. The current state of privacy solutions presents an opportunity for virtual worlds to attract more mainstream users as part of the ecosystem of organizations providing security services to online users.

Establishing Social Order in 3D Virtual Worlds with Virtual Institutions

An important security aspect of Virtual Worlds (in particular Virtual Worlds oriented towards commercial activities) is controlling participants’ adherence to the social norms (rules of behavior) and making them follow the acceptable interaction patterns. Rules of behavior in the physical world are usually enforced through a post factum punishment, while in computer-controlled environments like Virtual Worlds we can simply block the actions that are inconsistent with the rules and eliminate rule violations as such. In order to facilitate enforcing the rules in such automatic manner and allow for frequent rule changes, the rules have to be expressed in a formal way, so that the software can detect both the rules and the actions that can potentially violate them. In this chapter the authors introduce the concept of Virtual Institutions that are Virtual Worlds with normative regulation of interactions. For development of such systems the authors employ the Virtual Institutions Methodology that separates the development of Normative Virtual Worlds into two independent phases: formal specification of the institutional rules and design of the 3D interaction environment. The methodology is supplied with a set of graphical tools that support the development process on every level, from specification to deployment. The resulting system is capable of enforcing the social norms on the Virtual Worlds’ participants and ensuring the validity of their interactions.