Worlds.com was originally launched in 1994 (formerly "Worlds Chat"), making it one of the oldest virtual world services and it is free to basic users but has paid VIP access. The site offers free VIP access to United States military members and their families. Critics have complained that there have been few new developments or upgrades to the system since 2001. They even describe walking through the previously popular virtual world as traveling through a museum.
Despite the criticism of Worlds.com, it is an excellent example of how the very first virtual worlds appeared back in the mid to late 1990's. They were rather simplistic with few features, but the main function was that users could interact and chat with each other. This was very exciting to new internet users who could interact with other users from across the globe. The novelty of this has since seemed to wear off and therefore, users are looking for more customizability and more advanced features.