The Active Worlds Software Development Kit, or "SDK", can be used by programmers to develop automated programs that run within the Active World environment. These programs are often referred to as "bots."

Bots can sometimes appear in worlds using avatars just like any other user. If a bot speaks, it will have brackets ("[]") around its name. For example, you might enter a world and see something like this in your chat box:

[GreeterBot]: Hi! Welcome to my world.

Often, if a bot does not speak, it may not be possible to tell whether an avatar is a bot or not.

Bots are appearing throughout Active Worlds more and more frequently. For example, there are bots which are currently changing the music at the Ground Zero areas of several popular worlds. Some worlds features bots which will play games with you, or which let you play games against other people. Other worlds feature bots which will answer questions about the world or even give you a tour.

Bots can also sometimes be annoying. If you are a world owner, you can choose to not allow any bots in your world, or to only allow bots owned by certain people. You can adjust this from the World Rights dialog.

For more information on the Active Worlds SDK, including instructions on how to develop your own bots, please visit the Active Worlds SDK website at http://www.activeworlds.com/sdk/.