Online virtual worlds: MUDs, MOOs and MUSEs offer unique ways to communicate and exchange information. (the online edge).

I continue to be fascinated by the educational potential of "virtual worlds" on the Internet for communicating and exchanging information, and have spent untold hours trying out various forms with teachers and students. These include Multi-User Dimensions, or MUDs, which originally were text-based environments, organized as planets, cities or campuses with interconnected "rooms" containing virtual objects such as tools, costumes and signs. As you navigate through a MUD by typing directional commands, you can find out which people and objects are in each room that you enter, join in text conversations with the group, chat with individuals, manipulate objects--use tools, put on costumes and read signs--or move on to other areas.

Scores of people from all over the world may be in a MUD at any given time, and you can monitor who is logged on and their present locations. You can then "walk" to join individuals, use special commands to transport yourself to a room instantly, or page people you want to contact, e.g. "Can you meet with our teachers in the library?" MUDs usually allow users to help build online worlds by adding their own rooms and inventing objects.

Some MUDS allow participants to adopt role-playing personas, while others require the use of real identities, and some are wholly game environments, whereas others have serious purposes. For example, a particular MUD may have an economic, scientific, social or educational content focus, and may be targeted for specific people such as scientists or media specialists. But each one consists of a shared place and content to encourage interaction and collaboration. And although the distinctions get blurred, variations include the MOO--MUD, Object-Oriented--written with more powerful software that makes building rooms and adding objects easier, and the MUSE--Multi-user Simulated Environment--designed specifically for elementary and secondary school students.

TRANSITION TO THE WEB To visit a text-based virtual environment you would typically "telnet" to its location--such as telnet://guest.musenet.org--log in as "guest" or "visitor" and follow the instructions to learn the rules. Help screens, maps, tutorials and tours of the virtual world are usually provided, and often there are designated people to offer assistance. However, many traditional text-based virtual worlds have now made the transition to the Web, to make access much easier, provide related resources such as background articles, and open the door to graphics and sound. "Rachel's Educational MOOS," moolist.yeehaw.net/edu.html, is a comprehensive guide to online virtual worlds, such as the following:

* Diversity University, moo.du.org, for "serious experimentation in network-based, interactive teaching, learning and social services."

* MuseNet, guest.musenet.org, serving the K-12 science education community.

* MediaMOO, www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Amy.Bruckman/ MediaMOO, a professional community for media researchers.

LEARNING VIRTUALLY Life in a virtual world is a mix of creative playfulness, purpose, and serendipity that needs to be experienced firsthand. For example, I recently used MOOs to do such things as participate in a group discussion with an expert on virtual reality, discuss teaching with a faculty member from MIT, and visit a student-constructed room on ancient Egypt.

But the most exciting virtual worlds are the graphics-centered multimedia environments on the Web where users travel through 3-D views, see visual representations of participants called "avatars" move from room to room, have audible conversations, view film clips, attend online concerts, and hear presentations (some require downloading special plug-in software). They also require significant bandwidth support, have steep learning curves, and can be incredible time sinks. Nevertheless, virtual worlds are authentic online learning environments for communicating, cooperating, experimenting and interacting socially in powerful ways that captivate learners, and point the way to our online future.

MULTIMEDIA WORLDS

ACTIVEWORLDS, www.active worlds.com, for building 3D virtual reality worlds.

CYBERTOWN, www.cybertown.com, a futuristic online society.

MOOSE CROSSING, www.cc.gatech. edu/elc/moose-crossing, primarily for students aged 9-13.

TAPPED IN, www.tappedin.org, for K-12 education professionals.

Odvard Egil Dyrli, [e-mail], is senior editor and emeritus professor of education at the University of Connecticut.