oversight of this branch of volunteers. They also provide a conduit between volunteers/members and higher staff as well as handle any in-world issues that need attention. The Concept Essentially, the "Utherverse" besides being the parent company is namely also the universe or "Metaverse" that engulfs all of the cities that make up the environment. Cities such as Red Light Center, Loki Land and Virtual Vancouver, while both a part of the big picture, are each separate entities connected to each other by "transport centers" linking them together. In keeping with its suggestion that there should eventually be "millions of worlds, all of them connected, searchable, and customized..." the company claims it will license the use of its software infrastructure to anyone who wishes to create entire worlds on the scale of either of its existing properties, or much larger, on terms of a franchise. The company has recently released the groundwork for this with its Virtual World Web (VWW) option to its service. This enables any member to create a virtual world of their own for personal or business intent. The Utherverse social center, is comparable to Myspace or Facebook but with less content limitation and with some dating flavor. Freedom of speech and expression, within the confines of the law, are a key factor to the concept's appeal. There is a rewards system namely an in-world currency, referred to as 'Rays', in memory of Ray Schwartz, the late co-founder of Utherverse, which pays you for browsing profiles, rating pictures, creating and selling clothing etc. This currency and the vast amount of creativity in the Utherverse is also the driving force of the in-world economy. Award Nominations 2010 XBIZ Award Nominee: Innovative Company of the Year References Press Sexgame Reviews: Interview with Brian Shuster, CEO of Utherverse/Red Light Center The New Amsterdam: An Interview with Utherverse CEO, Brian Shuster RLC in the LA Times RLC Gay Marriage On Eyebeam Free Pot? High Times Story on RLC The Irresistible Rise Of Cybersex on NewScientistTech.com Wired Red Light Center Exposed Wired.com article PCMag article External links Red Light Center Utherverse 2005 video games Browser games Erotic video games Obscenity controversies in video games Virtual world communities Massively multiplayer online games Video games developed in Canada