Virtual and alternative worlds are proliferating in ever more varied forms. From online video games to the emergence of virtual reality, cyberspace is influencing our imaginations and identities. These worlds are occupying both our screens and our thoughts, establishing communities and forming relationships. These new environments may consist of mansions, lush jungles, enchanted forests or futuristic citadels, populated by strange creatures. Our avatars are therefore plunged into these digital El Dorados, generated by machines with near limitless possibilities.

Three explorers of these new worlds will be on hand to discuss them: Yann Minh, a digital artist and one of the founders of cyberculture in France, Michel Nachez, a Strasbourg experimental anthropologist, and Patrick Schmoll, a Strasbourg anthropologist who has studied online communities.