Party The Night Away at Doppelganger’s The Lounge

Virtual nightclub, anyone? Andrew Littlefield and his company, Doppelganger, has created the trendiest nighspot in the worldwide web, complete with dim lights and jacuzzi. The Lounge allows teenagers to interact with each other online and hone their social skills without having to worry whether they have just the right outfit or the hippest dance moves. When logged in at The Lounge, you can choose a computer-generated character to represent yourself. A slew of fashionable hairstyles and trendy clothes will be available for you to choose from.

Now if you don’t know how to bust a move, there’s no need to embarrass yourself on the dance floor; all the dance moves your virtual alter ego will perform are approved by a choreographer Littlefield has hired. Worried that your chosen character will be a little stiff? No need. The Lounge offers you a choice of body posture – from standing erect to appearing in a Brando-kind of slouch.

A cross between MySpace.com and World of Warcraft, The Lounge aims to build another successful Web community. Guests of the virtual nightclub can communicate with each other via AOL Instant Messenger. Prompts over a character’s head appears when real-world user has written something. Of course, just like in the real world, you can opt to brush off someone you don’t want to interact with. Just put them under the Ignore list and they cannot send you messages or read any message you’ve written.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Virtual nightclub, anyone? Andrew Littlefield and his company, Doppelganger, has created the trendiest nighspot in the worldwide web, complete with dim lights and jacuzzi. The Lounge allows teenagers to interact with each other online and hone their social skills without having to worry whether they have just the right outfit or the hippest dance moves. When logged in at The Lounge, you can choose a computer-generated character to represent yourself. A slew of fashionable hairstyles and trendy clothes will be available for you to choose from.

Now if you don’t know how to bust a move, there’s no need to embarrass yourself on the dance floor; all the dance moves your virtual alter ego will perform are approved by a choreographer Littlefield has hired. Worried that your chosen character will be a little stiff? No need. The Lounge offers you a choice of body posture – from standing erect to appearing in a Brando-kind of slouch.

A cross between MySpace.com and World of Warcraft, The Lounge aims to build another successful Web community. Guests of the virtual nightclub can communicate with each other via AOL Instant Messenger. Prompts over a character’s head appears when real-world user has written something. Of course, just like in the real world, you can opt to brush off someone you don’t want to interact with. Just put them under the Ignore list and they cannot send you messages or read any message you’ve written.

Parents may be concerned over the fact that such a virtual world may lead to fighting or any sexual activity. Littlefield assures that there will be none of these things. “About the raciest thing [guests] are allowed to do is blow a kiss,” he says. To ensure that The Lounge will be kept as wholesome as possible, Littlefield has Doppelganger staff patrol the club as their own virtual selves and kick out anybody who harasses the patrons.

Parents can get involved as well. By volunteering as bouncers, they can choose to refuse their kids access to the club. As Littlefield pointed out, “We believe parents should have the choice of not allowing their child to participate. We don’t want that argument. A parent can log on to the site, and we will make sure to remove their child’s membership.”

Now I know that the virtual world can never replace the real club experience, but as Littlefield pointed out, not everybody has access to glamour clubs. “Sure, kids in Los Angeles and New York know what a club experience is like. But what about teenagers who live in Des Moines, Iowa?”

I’d still prefer the real thing, though, but who knows? There might come a time when I seriously want to party but just don’t have the cash for it. I just might consider visiting The Lounge. After all, this virtual club is free of cover charge. For those of you who want a taste of the night life but are low in cash or too young to be admitted in real-life nightspots, just log on to Pcdmusiclounge.com and party the night (and, perhaps, day) away!