METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING VIRTUAL WORLD

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for managing a virtual world. The method for managing a virtual world includes: receiving virtual world management information including user information and communication information; and managing a virtual world, objects in the virtual world, and relationships between the objects using the virtual world management information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus and a method for managing a virtual world.

2. Description of Related Art

With the development of computer operation function and graphic processing capability and popularization of high-speed Internet line, various three-dimensional online games have been generalized. Further, unlike games achieving specific purposes, a ‘life-type virtual reality’ service that can three-dimensionally implement a real living space and thus, experience virtual reality has also been commercialized.

In particular, the life-type virtual reality service provide environment similar to real environment so as to implement real life in a virtual space. In this case, the life-type virtual reality service needs to provide a three-dimensional stereoscopic space that is similar to reality or is difficult to be searched in real environment and set various correlations between users and implement a natural user avatar.

It is important to consider all relationships existing in a virtual world during a process of creating the virtual world. It is also important for an operator or a manager in the virtual world to manage all types of interactions in the virtual world and reaction created by a user in a real world and to reflect attributes of objects in a real world. However, there is a need to consider efficiency of generation and management in the virtual world. The management is associated with a user in the real world and thus, handles a general structure in the virtual world so as to cover all the relationships existing in the virtual world and the real world. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, it is expect to develop various and new business models based on the virtual world. In addition, it is possible to reflect a trend in the real world and lead a trend in the virtual world.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for managing a virtual world capable of more effectively managing objects in a virtual world and relationships having the objects.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects and therefore, other objects and advantages of the present invention that are not mentioned may be understood by the following description and will be more obviously understood by exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In addition, it can be easily appreciated that objects and advantages of the present invention may be implemented by means and a combination thereof described in claims.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method for managing a virtual world includes:

receiving virtual world management information including user information and communication information; and managing a virtual world, objects in the virtual world, and relationships between the objects using the virtual world management information.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for managing a virtual world includes: an input unit configured to receive virtual world management information including user information and communication information; and a management unit configured to manage a virtual world, objects in the virtual world, and relationships between the objects using the virtual world management information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus for managing a virtual world in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for managing a virtual world in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of virtual world management information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of user information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of user profile information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of communication information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of current status information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of interest information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of relationship information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of popularity information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of interaction information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of expression modality information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of linguistic expression information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of facial expression information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of gesture information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the disclosure, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures and embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus for managing a virtual world in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

An apparatus 102 for managing a virtual world in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention includes an input unit 104 and a management unit 106.

The input unit 104 receives virtual world management information including user information and communication information. The user information, which is information describing a user using the virtual world, includes user profile information that is personal information of the user in a real world. The user profile information includes resident registration number information, gender information, age information, address information, phone number information, location information, emotion information, blood pressure information, and heart rate information.

The communication information is information describing communication between different virtual world objects. The communication information includes the current status information, the interaction information, and the expression modality information.

The current status information, which is information describing a current status of the virtual world object, includes name information, ID information, location information, property information, interest information, relationship information, and popularity information. The interest information includes interest name information, celebrity information, interest group information, and interest field information. The relationship information includes relationship name information, interest ID information, virtual world relationship information, and real world relationship information. The popularity information includes information about the number of nominations, information about the number of friends, information about the number of interests, information about the number of activities, information about friends rank, and information about an activity rank.

The interaction information, which is information describing interaction between different virtual world objects, includes avatar-to-avatar relationship information, avatar-to-virtual object relationship information, user-to-avatar relationship information, user-to-virtual object relationship information, and virtual object-to-virtual object relationship information.

The expression modality information, which is information describing expression modality of the virtual world object, includes linguistic expression information, facial expression information, finger movement information, gesture information, and posture information. The linguistic expression information includes voice expression information and text expression information. The facial expression information includes facial expression resource URL information. The gesture information includes gesture resource URL information.

The management unit 106 manages the virtual world, the virtual world object, and the relationship between the objects using the virtual world management information input through the input unit 104. For example, the management unit 206 may detect and manage the information about each user through the user information included in the virtual world management information and manage the communication between the virtual world object by using the communication information.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for managing a virtual world in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the virtual world management information including the user information and the communication information is received (202). As described above, the user information, which is information describing a user using the virtual world, includes the user profile information that is the personal information of the user in the real world. The user profile information includes resident registration number information, gender information, age information, address information, phone number information, location information, emotion information, blood pressure information, and heart rate information.

The communication information is information describing communication between different virtual world objects present in the virtual world. The communication information includes current status information, interaction information, and expression modality information.

The current status information, which is information describing a current status of the virtual world object, includes name information, ID information, location information, property information, interest information, relationship information, and popularity information. The interest information includes interest name information, celebrity information, interest group information, and interest field information. The relationship information includes relationship name information, interest ID information, virtual world relationship information, and real world relationship information. The popularity information includes information about the number of nominations, information about the number of friends, information about the number of interests, information about the number of activities, information about friends rank, and information about an activity rank.

The interaction information, which is information describing interaction between different virtual world objects, avatar-to-avatar relationship information, avatar-to-virtual object relationship information, user-to-avatar relationship information, user-to-virtual object relationship information, and virtual object-to-virtual object relationship information.

The expression modality information, which is information describing expression modality of the virtual world object, includes linguistic expression information, facial expression information, finger movement information, gesture information, and posture information. The linguistic expression information includes voice expression information and text expression information. The facial expression information includes facial expression resource URL information. The gesture information includes gesture resource URL information.

Next, the virtual world, the virtual world object, and the relationships between the objects are managed by using the received virtual world management information (204).

Hereinafter, a structure in the virtual world management information used in the method and the apparatus for managing a virtual world in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The users in the virtual world have their own interest information, activities to which the users belong, users' profile, and popularity of the virtual world object. It is important to reflect the information from the virtual world and the real world to a daily life of a user. The management concept may be implemented by the relationship between different virtual world objects.

The related art has no a method for describing the relationship between different virtual world objects as well as interaction between the users in the virtual world. The embodiment of the present invention proposes the control and management concept for defining all the relationships between the virtual world and the real world. In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, the operator can clearly understand the virtual world structure helping the operator to manage the virtual world. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention can perform an important role capable of stimulating the virtual world boom while proposing a new business model in business fields.

According to components present in the virtual world, there is a need to distinguish avatars and virtual objects in order to help clear understanding as independent shapes.

Next, the structure in the virtual world management information used in the method and the apparatus for managing a virtual world in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure in the virtual world management information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the virtual world management information (VirtualWorldManagementType) includes the user information and the communication information. Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 3 are shown in the following Table 1.

TABLE 1
Name          Description
User          Describes the information about user.
Communication Describes the information about communication
              existing different Virtual World Object.

A source code for implementing the virtual world management information of FIG. 3 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType  name=“VirtualWorldManagementType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element    name=“User”    type=“UserType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element          name=“Communication”
type=“CommunicationType” minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of user information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user information (UserType) includes user profile information (UserProfile). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 4 are shown in the following Table 2.

TABLE 2
Name        Description
UserProfile Describes personal information of user in real
            world.

The source code for implementing the user information of FIG. 4 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“UserType” abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element            name=“UserProfile”
type=“UserProfileType” minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of user profile information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the user profile information (UserProfileType) includes resident registration number information (SocialID), gender information (Gender), age information (Age), address information (Address), and phone number information (PhoneNum). In addition, the user profile information (UserProfileType) includes location information (Location), emotion information (Emotion), blood pressure information (BloodPressure), and heart rate information (HeartRate).

Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 5 are shown in the following Table 3.

TABLE 3
Name          Description
SocialID      Describes the social identification of user in
              real world.
Gender        Describes the gender of user in real world. (1:
              Woman 2: Man)
Age           Describes the age of user in real world.
Address       Describes the address of user in real world.
PhoneNum      Describes the phone number of user in real
              world.
Location      Describes the location of user in real world.
Emotion       Describes the emotion of user in real world.
BloodPressure Describes the blood pressure of user in real
              world.
HeartRate     Describes the heart rate of user in real world.

The source code for implementing the user profile information of FIG. 5 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType      name=“UserProfileType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element  name=“Location”  type=“LocationType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element   name=“Emotion”   type=“EmotionType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element            name=“BloodPressure”
type=“BloodPressureType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element name=“HeartRate” type=“HeartRateType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
<xsd:attribute name=“SocialID” type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute name=“Gender”   type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute  name=“Age”     type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute name=“Address”  type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute name=“PhoneNum” type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of communication information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the communication information (CommunicationType) includes current status information (CurrentStatus), interaction information (Interaction), and expression modality information (ExpressionModality). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 6 are shown in the following Table 4.

TABLE 4
Name                Description
CurrentStatus       Describes current status of virtual world
                    object.
Interaction         Describes interaction between different virtual
                    world object.
ExpressionModaility Describes expression modality of virtual world
                    object.

The source code for implementing the communication information of FIG. 6 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“CommunicationType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element     name=“CurrentStatus”
type=“CurrentStatusType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“Interaction”
type=“InteractionType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“ExpressionModality”
type=“ExpressionModalityType” minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of current status information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the current status information (CurrentStatusType) includes name information, ID information (ID), location information (Location), and property information (Property). In addition, the current status information (CurrentStatusType) includes interest information (Interestes), relationship information (Relationship), and popularity information (Popularity). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 7 are shown in the following Table 5.

TABLE 5
Name         Description
Name         Describes name of virtual world object.
ID           Describes identification of virtual world
             object.
Location     Describes location of virtual world object.
Property     Describes property of virtual world object.
Interests    Describes interests of virtual world object to
             other virtual world object.
Relationship Describes relationship of different virtual
             world object.
Popularity   Describes popularity of virtual world object.

The source code for implementing the current status information of FIG. 7 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType            name=“CurrentStatusType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element name=“Interests” type=“InterestsType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element                name=“Relationship”
type=“RelationshipType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element name=“Popularity” type=“PopularityType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
<xsd:attribute  name=“Name” type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute   name=“ID”  type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute              name=“Location”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute              name=“Property”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of interest information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the interest information (InterestsType) includes interest name information (Name), celebrity information (Celebrity), interest group information (Group), and interest field information (Field). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 8 are shown in the following Table 6.

TABLE 6
Name      Description
Name      Describes name of interest for virtual world
          object.
Celebrity Describes vary celebrity existing in real world.
Group     Describes vary group that virtual world object
          get interests.
Field     Describes vary field that virtual world object
          get interests

The source code for implementing the interest information of FIG. 8 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType           name=“InterestsType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element               name=“Celebrity”
type=“CelebrityType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element  name=“Group” type=“GroupType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element  name=“Field” type=“FieldType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
<xsd:attribute             name=“Name”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of relationship information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the relationship information (RelationshipType) includes relationship name information (Name), ID information (ID), virtual world relationship information (VirtualWorldRelationship), and real world relationship information (RealWorldRelationship). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 9 are shown in the following Table 7.

TABLE 7
Name                     Description
Name                     Describes name of relation type.
ID                       Describes identification of relation type.
VirtualWorldRelationship Describes virtual world relationship
                         reflecting to virtual environment.
RealWorldRelationship    Describes real world relationship reflecting
                         to virtual environment.

The source code for implementing the relationship information of FIG. 9 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“RelationshipType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:choice>
<xsd:element     name=“VirtualWorldRelationship”
type=“VirtualWorldRelationshipType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“RealWorldRelationship”
type=“RealWorldRelationshipType” minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:choice>
<xsd:attribute   name=“Name”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute name=“ID” type=“xsd:unsignedInt”
use=“optional”/>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of popularity information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the popularity information (PopularityType) includes information about the number of nominations (NumOfNomination), information about the number of friends (NumOfFriends), information about the number of interests (NumOfInterest), information about the number of activities (NumOfActivity), information about (FriendsRank), and information about an activity rank (ActivityRank). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 10 are shown in the following Table 8.

TABLE 8
Name            Description
NumOfNomination Describes number of nomination made by other
                virtual world object.
NumOfFriend     Describes number of friends in virtual world.
NumOfInterests  Describes number of interests that virtual world
                object have.
NumOfActivity   Describes number of activity that virtual world
                object involved.
FriendRank      Describes how many friends virtual world object
                have in virtual world.
ActivityRank    Describes how many activities virtual world
                object have in virtual world.

The source code for implementing the popularity information of FIG. 10 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“PopularityType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element     name=“FriendsRank”
type=“FriendsRankType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“ActivityRank”
type=“ActivityRankType” minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
<xsd:attribute   name=“NumOfNomination”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute   name=“NumOfFriends”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute   name=“NumOfInterest”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
<xsd:attribute   name=“NumOfActivity”
type=“xsd:unsignedInt” use=“optional”/>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of interaction information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the interaction information (InteractionType) includes avatar-to-avatar information (AvartarToAvartar), avatar-to-virtual object information (AvartarToVirtualObject), user-to-avatar information (UserToAvartar), user to virtual object information (UserToVirtualObject), and virtual object-to-virtual object information (VirtualObjectToVirtualObject). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 11 are shown in the following Table 9.

TABLE 9
Name                         Description
AvatarToAvatar               Describes the relationship between
                             avatars to avatars.
AvatarToVirtualObject        Describes the relationship between
                             avatars to virtual object.
UserToAvatar                 Describes the relationship between
                             users to avatar.
UserToVirtualObject          Describes the relationship between
                             users to virtual object.
VirtualObjectToVirtualObject Describes the relationship between
                             virtual objects to virtual object.

The source code for implementing the interaction information of FIG. 11 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“InteractionType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element     name=“AvatarToAvater”
type=“AvatarToAvaterType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“AvatarToVirtualObject”
type=“AvatarToVirtualObjectType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“UserToAvater”
type=“UserToAvaterType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“UserToVirtualObject”
type=“UserToVirtualObjectType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element name=“VirtualObjectToVirtualObject”
type=“VirtualObjectToVirtualObjectType” minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of expression modality information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the expression modality information (ExpressionModalityType) includes linguistic expression information (LinguisticExpression), facial expression information (FacialExpression), finger movement information (FingerMovements), gesture information (Gesture), and posture information (Posture). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 12 are shown in the following Table 10.

TABLE 10
Name                 Description
LinguisticExpression Describes linguistic expression in virtual
                     world.
FacialExpression     Describes Facial Expression in virtual world.
FingerMovement       Describes Finger Movement in virtual world.
Gesture              Describes Gesture in virtual world.
Posture              Describes Posture in virtual world.

The source code for implementing the expression modality information of FIG. 12 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“ExpressionModalityType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element     name=“LinguisticExpression”
type=“LinguisticExpressionType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“FacialExpression”
type=“FacialExpressionType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element     name=“FingerMovements”
type=“FingerMovementsType” minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element name=“Gesture” type=“GestureType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element name=“Posture” type=“PostureType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of linguistic expression information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the linguistic expression information (LinguisticExpressionType) includes voice expression information (Voice) and text expression information (Text). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 13 are shown in the following Table 11.

TABLE 11
Name  Description
Voice Describes voice expression of virtual world
      object.
Text  Describes text expression of virtual world
      object.

The source code for implementing the linguistic expression information of FIG. 13 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“LinguisticExpressionType”
abstract=“true”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element   name=“Voice”  type=“ChatType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
<xsd:element  name=“Text”  type=“MessageType”
minOccurs=“0”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of facial expression information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the facial expression information (FacialExpressionType) includes facial expression resource URL information (FacialExpressionResourceURL). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 14 are shown in the following Table 12.

TABLE 12
Name                        Description
FacialExpressionResourceURL Element that contains, if exist,
                            one or more link(s) to faction
                            expression(s) file(s).
                            URL Contains link to facial
                                expression fil
                            indicates data missing or illegible when filed

The source code for implementing the facial expression information of FIG. 14 is as follows.

<xsd:complexType name=“FacialExpressionType”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element name=“FacialExpressionResourcesURL”
type=“xsd:string”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of gesture information in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, the gesture information (GestureType) includes gesture resource URL information (GestureResourceURL). Semantics of each element illustrated in FIG. 15 are shown in the following Table 13.

TABLE 13
Name               Description
GestureResourceURL Element that contains, if exist, one or
                   more link(s) to gesture(s) file(s).
URL                Contains link to gesture file

The embodiment of the present invention proposes the virtual world management concept for integrating all the components in the virtual world. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention defines the important information of the user for the virtual world for the virtual world operator. The embodiment of the present invention can help the operator in the virtual world to efficiently control all the relationships existing in the virtual world. The advantages of the embodiment of the present invention may also be used to define the network established on the virtual world.

As described above, in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, the objects in the virtual world and the relationships between the objects can be more efficiently managed.

While the present invention has been described with respect to the specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for managing a virtual world, comprising: receiving virtual world management information including user information and communication information; andmanaging a virtual world, objects in the virtual world, and relationships between the objects using the virtual world management information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user information includes user profile information, and the user profile information includes resident registration number information, gender information, age information, address information, phone number information, location information, emotion information, blood pressure information, and heart rate information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication information includes current status information, interaction information, and expression modality information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the current status information includes name information, ID information, location information, property information, interest information, relationship information, and popularity information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the interest information includes interest name information, celebrity information, interest group information, and interest field information.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the relationship information includes relationship name information, interest ID information, virtual world relationship information, and real world relationship information.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the popularity information includes information about the number of nominations, information about the number of friends, information about the number of interests, information about the number of activities, information about friends rank, and information about an activity rank.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the interaction information includes avatar-to-avatar relationship information, avatar-to-virtual object relationship information, user-to-avatar relationship information, user-to-virtual object relationship information, and virtual object-to-virtual object relationship information.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the expression modality information includes linguistic expression information, facial expression information, finger movement information, gesture information, and posture information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the linguistic expression information includes voice expression information and text expression information.

11. An apparatus for managing a virtual world, comprising: an input unit configured to receive virtual world management information including user information and communication information; anda management unit configured to manage a virtual world, objects in the virtual world, and relationships between the objects using the virtual world management information.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user information includes user profile information, and the user profile information includes resident registration number information, gender information, age information, address information, phone number information, location information, emotion information, blood pressure information, and heart rate information.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the communication information includes current status information, interaction information, and expression modality information.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the method of claim 3, wherein the current status information includes name information, ID information, location information, property information, interest information, relationship information, and popularity information.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the interest information includes interest name information, celebrity information, interest group information, and interest field information.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the relationship information includes relationship name information, interest ID information, virtual world relationship information, and real world relationship information.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the popularity information includes information about the number of nominations, information about the number of friends, information about the number of interests, information about the number of activities, information about friends rank, and information about an activity rank.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the interaction information includes avatar-to-avatar relationship information, avatar-to-virtual object relationship information, user-to-avatar relationship information, user-to-virtual object relationship information, and virtual object-to-virtual object relationship information.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the expression modality information includes linguistic expression information, facial expression information, finger movement information, gesture information, and posture information.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the linguistic expression information includes voice expression information and text expression information.