When the word “virtual” was first introduced in information technology, it applied to memory simulated by computer; that is, memory not actually built into a processor’s main memory but, rather, located in online magnetic disks. More recently, the term has been applied to entities such as things, organizations, processes, and people that exist but are simulated using information technology. For example, virtual conversations are conversations that take place over computer networks, and virtual communities are some social groups that assemble around the use of e-mail, web pages, and other networked, digital resources.