Virtual Worlds and E-Commerce: Technologies and Applications for Building Customer Relationships presents various opinions, judgments, and ideas on how the use of digitally created worlds is changing the face of e-commerce and extending the use of internet technologies to create a more immersive experience for customers. Containing current research on various aspects of the use of virtual worlds, this book includes a discussion of the elements of virtual worlds; the evolution of e-commerce to virtual commerce (v-commerce); the convergence of online games and virtual worlds; current examples of virtual worlds in use by various businesses, the military, and educational institutions; the economics of virtual worlds: discussions on legal, security and technological issues facing virtual worlds; a review of some human factor issues in virtual worlds; and the future of virtual worlds and e-commerce.

Whether used for communication, entertainment, socio-economic growth, crowd-sourcing social and political events, monitoring vital signs in patients, helping to drive vehicles, or delivering education, mobile technology has been transformed from a mode to a medium. Mobile Technology Consumption: Opportunities and Challenges explores essential questions related to the cost, benefit, individual and social impact, and security risks associated with the rapid consumption of mobile technology. This book presents the current state of mobile technologies and their use in various domains including education, healthcare, government, entertainment, and emerging economic sectors.