This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of collaborative virtual environments. It tells you all you need to know about the latest technology, state-of-the-art research, and good working practice.The issues raised include: - what is a CVE? - what are the issues in the design of embodiments and objects within CVEs? - how can CVEs support collocated and non-collocated collaborative and cooperative work? - what are the best ways to provide awareness of the actions of others? - how can they support seamless interactions given differential computational resources? - what design issues arise from the meeting of social requirements and computational limitations? - what technical challenges face the designers of CVE systems?It will be invaluable reading for anyone with an interest in collaboration but will be of particular interest to researchers and students in areas related to computer supported cooperative and collaborative work and human computer interaction.

In an era when increasing numbers of people are conducting research and interacting with one another through the internet, the study of 'Inhabited Information Spaces' is aimed at encouraging a more fruitful exchange between the users, and the digital data they are accessing. Introducing the new and developing field of Inhabited Information Spaces, this book covers all types of collaborative systems including virtual environments and more recent innovations such as hybrid and augmented real-world systems. Divided into separate sections, each covering a different aspect of Inhabited Information Systems, this book includes: How best to design and construct social work spaces; analysis of how users interact with existing systems, and the technological and sociological challenges designers face; How Inhabited Information Spaces are likely to evolve in the future and the new communities that they will create.