This week is a busy one on the Virtual World events calendar. Today marks the start of a four day “Creative Economies: Digital and Virtual” Business Matching Forum in Beijing facilitated by X|Media|Lab. The ICCIE Summit runs from November 8th-9th followed by a X|Media|Lab which runs from November 10th-11th.

Of particular interest is the launch of China’s Recreation District which is the virtual equivalent to China’s “Special Economic Zones”. As someone who was fortunate enough to witness first hand the rise of the Asian Tiger economies over the last 2 decades this event heralds a new chapter in the regions evolution. Many thanks to Brendan for the invitation.

Stanford plays host to its first Metaverse Meetup this evening. Mike Liebhold from the Institute of the Future is tonights guest speaker. As one of the leading 3D Geoweb thinkers Mikes talk on 3D Data for Real World Virtual Worlds promises to be entertaining and educational. Co-ordinator Henrik Bennetsen has more details on the event here. For those who cannot make it to Stanford there will be a Second Life simulcast at Spaceport Bravo.

Saturday sees Harvard Business School play host to its annual Cyberposium. This years event has Virtual Worlds high on its agenda with Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale delivering one of the keynotes and a Online Games and Virtual Worlds : More Than Just Entertainment? panel in the afternoon. For those interested in attending registration is available here.