The most financially successful virtual worlds are not 3D and sophisticated, but flat and appealing to younger audiences. Think Neopets, Webkinz, Club Penguin and Runescape, not Second Life.

Habbo, whose graphics are reminiscent of the Code Monkeys cartoon and 8-bit 80s video games, announced today that its 100-millionth avatar had been created. That does not translate as 100m active members - the service had 10.3m unique visitors in May, according to comScore - but it is still an impressive indication of the growth of the service since its launch in Finland eight years ago.
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