<s>
A	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifact	I-General_Concept
(	O
VA	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
immaterial	O
object	O
that	O
exists	O
in	O
the	O
human	O
mind	O
or	O
in	O
a	O
digital	O
environment	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
,	O
cyberspace	B-General_Concept
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifact	I-General_Concept
"	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
ways	O
in	O
scientific	O
and	O
public	O
discourse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
images	O
,	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
,	O
models	O
,	O
prototypes	B-Application
,	O
computer	O
animation	O
,	O
)	O
that	O
exist	O
in	O
digital	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
behind	O
the	O
term	O
is	O
rapidly	O
developing	O
and	O
expanding	O
as	O
new	O
phenomena	O
emerge	O
in	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
linear	B-Architecture
perspective	I-Architecture
,	O
cinematography	O
)	O
enabled	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
methods	O
to	O
describe	O
these	O
artifacts	O
,	O
events	O
and	O
entities	O
in	O
painting	O
,	O
photography	O
and	O
film	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
were	O
(	O
and	O
still	O
are	O
)	O
commonly	O
found	O
in	O
environments	O
that	O
require	O
a	O
strong	O
imaginary	O
aspect	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
be	O
experienced	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
radio	O
shows	O
,	O
novels	O
,	O
tabletop	O
role-playing	O
games	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
computing	O
enabled	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
interactive	O
virtual	B-Application
environments	I-Application
that	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
digital	O
technologies	O
and	O
new	O
methods	O
of	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
digital	O
environments	O
,	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
became	O
independent	O
entities	O
that	O
could	O
exist	O
and	O
interact	O
outside	O
the	O
human	O
mind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
fractals	B-Application
)	O
could	O
be	O
created	O
and	O
represented	O
in	O
these	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Humans	O
have	O
expanded	O
the	O
existing	O
environment	O
to	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
an	O
essential	O
cultural	O
phenomenon	O
in	O
modern	O
society	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
bear	O
meanings	O
and	O
functions	O
and	O
since	O
they	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
they	O
affect	O
real	O
world	O
events	O
and	O
people	O
's	O
lives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
have	O
certain	O
similarities	O
to	O
real-life	O
artifacts	O
even	O
though	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
physical	O
properties	O
in	O
the	O
traditional	O
sense	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
real-life	O
objects	O
and	O
environments	O
can	O
be	O
simulated	O
in	O
digital	O
environments	O
(	O
like	O
computer	O
games	O
,	O
3D	O
modeling	O
or	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simulated	O
virtual	B-Application
objects	O
(	O
photorealistic	O
VA	O
)	O
and	O
environments	O
have	O
a	O
model	O
in	O
the	O
real	O
world	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
context	O
,	O
an	O
abstract	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifact	I-General_Concept
is	O
n't	O
necessarily	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
laws	O
of	O
physics	O
or	O
causality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
are	O
purely	O
abstract	O
in	O
their	O
nature	O
,	O
therefore	O
they	O
ca	O
n't	O
model	O
real-life	O
objects	O
or	O
phenomena	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
programs	I-Application
or	O
digital	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
,	O
while	O
often	O
containing	O
representative	O
components	O
of	O
real-life	O
objects	O
,	O
ca	O
n't	O
exist	O
in	O
physical	O
terms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
do	O
not	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
comprehensible	O
to	O
humans	O
at	O
all	O
;	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
created	O
and	O
understood	O
solely	O
by	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
can	O
have	O
physical	O
properties	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
color	O
,	O
length	O
)	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
environment	O
they	O
exist	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
can	O
also	O
contain	O
properties	O
that	O
are	O
n't	O
perceptible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
are	O
reconstructed	O
in	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
are	O
a	O
crucial	O
part	O
of	O
digital	O
,	O
imaginary	O
game	O
worlds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
paintings	O
,	O
interactive	O
installations	O
,	O
music	O
videos	O
)	O
that	O
is	O
presented/archived	O
in	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
environment	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
as	O
a	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifact	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Designers	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
fashion	O
designers	O
,	O
industrial	O
designers	O
,	O
architects	O
)	O
use	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
prototypes	B-Application
,	O
testing	O
environments	O
)	O
in	O
their	O
work	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
art	O
,	O
artists	O
using	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
,	O
augmented	O
reality	O
and	O
mixed	O
reality	O
as	O
a	O
medium	O
produce	O
virtual	B-Application
artworks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
can	O
have	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
and/or	O
"	O
real	O
"	O
exchange	O
value	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
as	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
person	O
or	O
other	O
juristically	O
defined	O
actor	O
can	O
claim	O
ownership	O
and	O
invest	O
money	O
in	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
can	O
also	O
be	O
valuable	O
in	O
an	O
economical	O
sense	O
outside	O
the	O
environment	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
a	O
virtual	B-Application
world	I-Application
such	O
as	O
ones	O
found	O
in	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
games	I-Application
)	O
they	O
are	O
created	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
many	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
,	O
there	O
exists	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
economy	I-Application
that	O
often	O
mimics	O
real-life	O
commercial	O
features	O
and	O
models	O
such	O
as	O
trading	O
with	O
in-game	B-Application
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
,	O
virtual	B-Application
currencies	O
,	O
supply	O
and	O
demand	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
viable	O
real-life	O
business	O
model	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
exchange	O
of	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
within	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
social	O
networking	O
game	O
Habbo	B-Application
Hotel	I-Application
;	O
in	O
Habbo-world	O
,	O
users	O
buy	O
virtual	B-Application
products	O
such	O
as	O
furniture	O
for	O
their	O
virtual	B-Application
hotel	O
room	O
with	O
real	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
game	O
environments	O
have	O
also	O
created	O
commercial	O
models	O
around	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
,	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
game	O
items	O
or	O
virtual	B-Application
property	O
is	O
booming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
environments	I-Application
have	O
enabled	O
the	O
production	O
and	O
commercialization	O
of	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
artifacts	I-General_Concept
created	O
by	O
end-users	O
—	O
creating	O
new	O
markets	O
and	O
effectively	O
blurring	O
the	O
line	O
between	O
"	O
real	O
"	O
and	O
virtual	B-Application
consumerism	O
.	O
</s>
