<s>
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
online	O
virtual	B-Application
world	I-Application
,	O
developed	O
by	O
ActiveWorlds	O
Inc.	O
,	O
a	O
company	O
based	O
in	O
Newburyport	O
,	O
Massachusetts	O
,	O
and	O
launched	O
on	O
June	O
28	O
,	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
assign	O
themselves	O
a	O
name	O
,	O
log	O
into	O
the	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
universe	B-Application
,	O
and	O
explore	O
3D	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
and	O
environments	O
that	O
others	O
have	O
built	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ActiveWorlds	B-Protocol
allows	O
users	O
to	O
own	O
worlds	O
and	O
universes	O
,	O
and	O
develop	O
custom	O
3D	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
browser	B-Application
has	O
web	B-Application
browsing	I-Application
capabilities	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
basic	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
1995	O
,	O
KAW	O
spun	O
off	O
their	O
3D	B-Application
Web	I-Application
division	O
to	O
form	O
the	O
company	O
Worlds	O
Inc	O
.	O
Britvich	O
was	O
eventually	O
joined	O
by	O
several	O
other	O
developers	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
renamed	O
AlphaWorld	O
continued	O
to	O
develop	O
as	O
a	O
skunkworks	O
project	O
at	O
Worlds	O
Inc	O
,	O
internally	O
competing	O
with	O
a	O
similar	O
project	O
known	O
internally	O
as	O
Gamma	O
and	O
publicly	O
as	O
Worlds	O
Chat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
28	O
,	O
1995	O
,	O
AlphaWorld	O
was	O
renamed	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
(	O
from	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
Explorer	O
)	O
and	O
officially	O
launched	O
as	O
version	O
1.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
Circle	O
of	O
Fire	O
(	O
CoF	O
)	O
was	O
formed	O
to	O
create	O
content	O
for	O
the	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
universe	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
,	O
never	O
considered	O
much	O
of	O
an	O
asset	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
became	O
an	O
object	O
of	O
struggle	O
for	O
those	O
close	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Circle	O
of	O
Fire	O
(	O
COF	O
)	O
run	O
by	O
Richard	O
Noll	O
purchased	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
assets	O
of	O
Activeworlds	B-Protocol
and	O
hired	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
Activeworlds	B-Protocol
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
JP	O
McCormick	O
joined	O
the	O
company	O
shortly	O
thereafter	O
and	O
invested	O
funds	O
in	O
COF	O
to	O
continue	O
the	O
expansion	O
of	O
Activeworlds	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
21	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
COF	O
performed	O
a	O
reverse	O
merger	O
with	O
Vanguard	O
Enterprises	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
and	O
changed	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
name	O
to	O
Activeworlds.com,	O
Inc	O
.	O
and	O
became	O
a	O
publicly	O
traded	O
company	O
on	O
Nasdaq	O
under	O
the	O
symbol	O
AWLD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
16	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
released	O
the	O
first	O
major	O
update	O
to	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
two	O
years	O
,	O
version	O
4.2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
24	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
released	O
an	O
open	O
beta	O
of	O
version	O
5.0	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
incident	O
,	O
described	O
as	O
creepypasta-like	O
,	O
led	O
to	O
speculation	O
that	O
the	O
character	O
was	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
ARG	O
,	O
and	O
restored	O
interest	O
in	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
world	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
revealed	O
that	O
Fujiko	O
was	O
a	O
viewer	O
of	O
Vinny	O
's	O
streams	O
and	O
a	O
former	O
frequenter	O
of	O
Active	B-Protocol
Worlds	I-Protocol
who	O
had	O
decided	O
to	O
revisit	O
the	O
game	O
during	O
Vinny	O
's	O
own	O
playthrough	O
of	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
entertaining	O
herself	O
;	O
she	O
later	O
participated	O
in	O
a	O
question	O
&	O
answer	O
session	O
revolving	O
around	O
the	O
incident	O
on	O
the	O
Vinesauce	O
subreddit	B-Application
under	O
the	O
pseudonym	O
"	O
Pocketomi	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
