iOpener Gets $6M Funding for Mixed Reality Racing

This isn't strictly a virtual world since it seems to be totally focused on the gameplay of racing,  but it's a pretty interesting application of mixed realities nonetheless. iOpener, assisted as an "incubate" of the ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands, has received $6 million in financing from German Venture Capitalist Triangle. iOpener is developing a technology using ESA satellites designed to map real world competitions, like F1 racing, and pipe the data into a virtual environment, allowing users to participate in real time. "Our product enables gamers to race live against professionals – they don't have to be a 'Schumacher' to enjoy it,"  Andy Lürling, CEO and co-founder of iOpener, said in a statement. "It is a total immersion experience." Well, except for the fact that if a user crashes, they only restart. When the racer crashes, there's fire. [via Spacemart]