IMVU

IMVU is an instant messaging tool that lets you communicate with friends and even strangers in a three-dimensional environment.

IMVU provides a living, breathing virtual world for you to enter and explore. It's Sims-like in some respects and similar to an MMO in many others, but there are no gameplay elements. You don't have a health bar or have to worry about someone or something killing you.

The world is huge and consists of many different areas. They are essentially virtual chat rooms: bars, pizza parlors, outdoor gardens, dance clubs, shopping malls and so forth. As you move into a new area, you'll be chatting with fellow users in the same zone. The program makes it easy to find your friends, and there are many places where friends can go off to enjoy some privacy.

Exploration of the world is accomplished using an avatar, and you can customize your avatar in many different ways: skin color, hair style, clothes, accessories, pets and more. Some of the customization options are free, but many cost credits. You’ll earn credits just by being active, and savvy shoppers can take advantage of timed specials to stretch their credits far. However, if you come across an avatar feature you just have to have right now, then you're probably going to spend some real-world moolah.

Your avatar moves around the world as you control it. You can set its current mood, such as happy, sad or excited. There are a number of expressions or emotes you can make rather than chatting. In addition to walking, you can dance, jump and choose from a wide range of other movements.

IMVU can take a long time to load initially, even on newer computers. Once loaded, it tends to run well without any issues. By default, chat appears in speech bubbles over the avatar of the person chatting. This works OK with a few people but can be very hard to follow in crowded areas. IMVU also has a traditional text chat box. It's much easier to follow, but focusing on it can diminish the overall allure of exploring and chatting in a virtual world.

Pros

• Virtual world with no game elements
• Diverse avatar customization
• Avatars can emote

Cons

• Potentially long load times
• Speech bubble chat can be hard to track
• Microtransactions