There.com Users Suddenly Find Themselves in a Whole New World

VANCOUVER, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The abrupt announcement Tuesday by Makena Technologies that There.com would be closing for good came as a shock to the virtual world's thousands of active users who feared they would be left homeless.  Many residents further expressed outrage that their bank accounts, filled with billions of Therebucks, were suddenly made worthless by the announcement.

In the midst of the maelstrom, virtual world competitor Utherverse.com announced a stream of offerings to former There.com users designed to prevent them from becoming homeless and penniless on March 9 at midnight.  

Among the incentives Utherverse.com is providing is a buyout program where There.com users can convert their bank accounts from Therebucks into Rays (the virtual currency used within the Utherverse network of virtual worlds).  Utherverse has offered to purchase up to 130,000 Therebucks per user converted directly into Rays and to allow users to spend an unlimited additional amount of Therebucks to purchase Utherverse virtual goods and services.

Users have pounced on the offer, and within the first 24 hours of the announcement, more than 2.5 million Therebucks had been redeemed for Rays.

"There.com users are disappointed that they're losing their homes, but they're outraged that they're losing their virtual money," said Utherverse CEO Brian Shuster.  "We're doing everything we can to minimize the pain that There.com users are feeling right now, and we hope to show by our actions just how welcome they are to join our amazing community."

Utherverse.com expects to convert more than one billion Therebucks into Rays by the time the program is completed.

The other major initiative undertaken by Utherverse.com was the creation of an uncensored forum board dedicated to There.com users who wish to stay in touch with each other, complain about the closing of the virtual world, or for general discussion.  

"Utherverse's 'There.com Forum Board' is designed to replace the forum board that was abruptly closed by Makena at the same time that they announced the pending closure of There.com," noted Shuster.  "Users want and need a place to vent and discuss issues freely.  We're responding by giving them this free outlet to use as they see fit."  

For more information about the Therebucks Buyout Program or the Utherverse There.com Forum Boards, visit http://www.utherverse.com/Forum/

About Utherverse.com

Utherverse is the Internet's most sophisticated and advanced 3D virtual reality universe.  The company was formed in 2002 to create a virtual-world web of massive multiplayer online communities.  Specifically designed to appeal to the 21-49 year-old demographic market, the site offers users virtual nightclubs, hotels, movie theaters, stores, and community events.

Among Utherverse's offerings are the Virtual World Web -TheVWW.com - which provides simple software that enables anyone to create their own Virtual World, RedLightCenter.com, an adult-themed virtual world modeled after the infamous district in Amsterdam, and Virtual-Vancouver.com, a music-focused online community.  

For more information, please see http://www.utherverse.com.

SOURCE Utherverse.com