Policy gaps in the virtual world

The convergence of computer and communication technologies has brought the people around the world to be more connected electronically in a virtual world. The success of Internet has opened up possibilities to create many applications in the space of the virtual world, such as the virtual libraries, the virtual shopping malls and the virtual communities, which have availed opportunities to learn, do business, socialise and entertain in new ways. While in the real world we have policies to govern the physical systems and processes, these policies lose their effect the moment they enter the virtual world, mainly because of their vulnerability to abuse and misuse in a world where much of what is happening is not visible. The purpose of this paper is to inform about the faltering policy issues of the real world that give rise to policy gaps in the virtual world. We discuss this concern in the context of five practical virtual world application areas.