San Diego - Metaplace, a platform that allows anyone to create virtual worlds on the Web, announced on Wednesday that it has landed $6.7 million in new funding, led by Charles River Ventures and Crescendo Ventures.

New investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz also participated in the round, which brings the company's total funding raised to date to $9.4 million.

San Diego-based Metaplace (formerly called Areae) launched an invitation-only beta of its service on Wednesday as well.

"Building virtual worlds has always been the purview of large companies with deep pockets," said Raph Koster, co-founder of Metaplace.

"Our vision at Metaplace is to combine the ubiquity and ease of the Web with the immersive and addictive nature of video games to give everyday users the power to create a network of worlds based on their interests be it community, games, education or business."

Related Links:
http://www.metaplace.com/information/release/2008_10_22

http://www.metaplace.com