Collaborative Virtual Environments, Springer Verlag, 2000, Chapter 1 Collaborative Virtual Environments: Digital Spaces and Places for CSCW: An Introduction Dave Snowdon, Elizabeth F. Churchill and Alan J. Munro Abstract This paper is the introductory chapter of Collaborative Virtual Environments, edited by Churchill , Snowdon and Munro and due to be published in December 2000. In this paper, we introduce our working definition of Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs), and describe some issues we believe to be central to the design and use of such environments. Our definition of CVEs focuses centrally on communication and information sharing between individuals. Although we touch on recreational use of CVEs our focus in this chapter is on collaborative and cooperative work. We then offer a short summary of the chapters in this book. 1. Introduction In the late 1980’s Virtual Reality (VR) burst onto the public stage propelled by a wave of media interest and related science fiction novels such as “Neuromancer” by William Gibson (Gibson, 1989). VR promised to revolutionise the way in which we experience and interact with computers, and research into the field mushroomed. More recently, the hype surrounding VR has died down and, although it is receiving less public attention, serious work is continuing with the aim of producing useful, usable technology. At the