Raph Koster (Metaplace), originally uploaded by kathyjohnson.

Raph Koster is a celebrity in the virtual reality and gaming world. He’s kinda like Steven Spielberg plus Walt Disney plus Steve Jobs in one package – visionary, creative, smart as heck, technical, entrepreneurial. Plus he’s a seriously nice guy

Raph took stage on Tuesday to unveil what he, John Donham, and his team, have been working on in secret for months. It’s Metaplace – making virtual worlds accessible for the rest of us out there in the real world. Easy, interactive, fun, customizable. Right now, it’s only in alpha stage, but later the team in San Diego will be opening the wrappers to more beta users.