Method of providing a shared virtual lounge experience

1. A method of providing a shared virtual lounge experience, comprising:

analyzing, by a server, at least a first message communicated from a first participant in a first virtual world to a second participant in the first virtual world to determine at least one context of the first message;

based on the determined context of the first message, dynamically creating, by the server, a new second context-specific virtual lounge that is distinct from the first virtual lounge to pertain to the determined context and host participant interactions; and

automatically inviting, by the server, to participate in the context-specific virtual lounge at least the first participant selected from a group consisting of the first participant in the virtual world and the second participant of the virtual world to interact with the second participant.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving from a participant in the second context-specific virtual lounge a request to invite at least a third participant in the first virtual world into the second context-specific virtual lounge; and

communicating to the third participant in the first virtual world an invitation corresponding to the request.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on the determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains, automatically communicating an invitation to a third participant in the first virtual world, the invitation inviting the third participant in the first virtual world to participate in the second context-specific virtual lounge.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

monitoring present circumstances of the second context-specific virtual lounge;

analyzing the present circumstances of the second context-specific virtual lounge to identify a context of the present circumstances; and

dynamically updating the determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains to include the determined context of the present circumstances.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether at least a second message exchanged in a third virtual lounge relates to the determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains; and

automatically merging the third virtual lounge into the second context-specific virtual lounge.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether at least a second message exchanged in a third virtual lounge relates to the determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains; and

automatically merging the second context-specific virtual lounge into the third virtual lounge.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the first message communicated from the first participant in the first virtual world to the second participant in the first virtual world to determine a context of the message comprises:

identifying at least one contextual term in the first message.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the first message communicated from the first participant in the first virtual world to the second participant in the first virtual world to determine a context of the message comprises:

identifying at least one contextual term that occurs at a number of instances equal to or greater than a threshold value in a plurality of messages communicated by the first participant in the first virtual world or the second participant in the first virtual world.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying at least one service that is likely to be of interest to at least one participant in the second context-specific virtual lounge based on the determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains; and

automating presentation to the participant of the at least one listing of the at least one service.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the at least one service that is likely to be of interest to the at least one participant in the second context-specific virtual lounge based on the determined context comprises:

processing profile information of the at least one participant in the second context-specific virtual lounge.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein automating presentation to the participant of the listing of the at least one identified service comprises:

presenting a plurality of icons in the second context-specific virtual lounge, each icon representing a different type of service listing that is available and being selectable by participants of the second context-specific virtual lounge to initiate presentation of a corresponding service listing.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

interfacing with at least one service provider that provides at least one service that is likely to be of interest to the at least one participant in the second context-specific virtual lounge in order to facilitate a purchase transaction.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying at least one advertisement that is related to determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains; and

automating presentation of the at least one advertisement to at least one participant in the second context-specific virtual lounge.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein identifying the advertisement that is related to the determined context to which the second context-specific virtual lounge pertains comprises:

identifying at least one advertisement likely to be of interest to the participant based on a user profile of the participant.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing within the second context-specific virtual lounge at least one link to an emergency response service, the at least one link being selectable by participants of the second context-specific virtual lounge to contact the emergency response service from within the second context-specific virtual lounge.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

analyzing at least a second message that is communicated in the second context-specific virtual lounge to determine a context of the second message;

generating a transcript of the second context-specific virtual lounge, the transcript identifying at least the second message; and

communicating the transcript to a user.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein generating the transcript of the second context-specific virtual lounge comprises:

generating a transcript that further identifies a set of actions performed by at least one avatar within the second context-specific virtual lounge, the transcript enabling the actions to be presented in a video format.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein generating the transcript that further identifies the set of actions performed by the at least one avatar within the second context-specific virtual lounge comprises:

generating a transcript that is configured to be processed by a user device to present at least the second message and the identified set of actions.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving data representing real-world information; and

dynamically adapting the second context-specific virtual lounge to reflect the received data.

20. A non-transitory computer program product comprising:

a computer-usable medium comprising computer-usable program code that provides a shared virtual lounge experience, the computer-usable medium comprising:

computer-usable program code that analyzes at least a first message communicated from a first participant in a first virtual world to a second participant in the first virtual world to determine at least one context of the first message;

computer-usable program code that, based on the determined context of the first message, dynamically creates a new second context-specific virtual lounge that is distinct from the first virtual lounge to pertain to the determined context and host participant interactions; and

computer-usable program code that automatically invites to participate in the second context-specific virtual lounge at least the first participant selected from a group consisting of the first participant in the first virtual world and the second participant of the first virtual world to interact with the second participant.