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Quote:The vast majority of virtual world projects launched by businesses fail within 18 months, but the impact of the collaboration technology on organizations could eventually be as big as the Internet, a market research firm said this week.

Fully 90% of business forays into virtual worlds fail because organizations focus on the technology rather than on understanding the needs of the employees using it...

Businesses have learned some hard lessons," Gartner analyst Steve Prentice said in a statement released Thursday. "They need to realize that virtual worlds mark the transition from Web pages to Web places and a successful virtual presence starts with people, not physics. Realistic graphics and physical behavior count for little unless the presence is valued by and engaging to a large audience."

Other reasons for the high failure rate include starting projects for the "cool" factor or because competitors are doing it, Gartner said. Many projects are abandoned because of a lack of clear objectives and a limited understanding of the demographics, attitudes, and expectations of virtual-world communities...