San Jose, Calif. - Venture capital, technology and media firms have invested more than $1 billion in 35 virtual worlds companies over the past 12 months, according to a report from Virtual Worlds Management, a producer of trade events and media for the industry.

The $1 billion figure includes Disney's mammoth $700 million acquisition of Club Penguin and Intel's $110 million purchase of Havok, as well as $196.8 million invested in 33 companies.

Significant investors in the space have included Redpoint Ventures, Charles River Ventures, Intel and Rustic Canyon Partners, and media firms Disney, CBS, Time Warner and NBC Universal's Peacock Equity Fund.

"The amount of money invested in this period of time is staggering. We don't see any slowing in the market adoption of virtual worlds technologies and expect investment in the space to continue," said Christopher Sherman, executive director of Virtual Worlds Management.

"In fact the market is growing significantly, with the rate of adoption of virtual worlds increasing as the technology matures and has more to offer both consumers and enterprise customers."

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