People have been trying to generate an exact definition of a virtual world since their inception in the 1970s. By combining pieces of partial definitions of virtual worlds, the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research defines a virtual world as "A synchronous, constant network of people, represent as avatars, facilitated by networked computers."

A network of people
Participants in a virtual world must be able to interact and speak with each other. Even if a user chooses not to communicate, their events in the environment must have an effect on the world for everyone else.

A persistent world
A virtual world must persist to exist even after a participant has left. This lets the practical world differ from other computer generated environment in that the user is not the center of the world, but a member of a larger community.

Synchronous communication
All actions and letter in a virtual world must happen in real time. All events that affect the situation must do so equally for all participant, creating a sense of space.

Digital representations
All participants in a virtual planet must have digital representation, or avatars, that actually perform the actions as directed by the user. These representation may be graphical or textual, as long as all interaction with the practical world are done through them.

Created in a computer network
The persistence and density of a virtual world necessitates the use of a processor network to control the world. The environment must be interactive and even small changes must remain pushy, so it would be impossible to operate a virtual world without the use of computers.