VR, also known as virtual entertainment, uses computers to create a simulated, three-dimensional world with which you interact; images seem life-sized, and your motions are tracked so the images change to reflect your change in perspective. In other words, it’s immersive.

Augmented reality, AR, rather than creating a made-up world, puts simulated or virtual images into the physical world. The real-looking bright yellow first-down line used in televised football games is a good example.

Meanwhile, electronic games and amusement parks are leading the way in entertainment VR. Motion and voice-sensing video-game devices likeNintendo’sWii remote control and Microsoft’s Kinect sensors are combined with 3-D graphics to trick gamers into feeling that they are inside the action.

Video and computer games boasted more than $25 billion in sales in 2010, according to the Electronic Software Association .

“Virtual entertainment is changing from head-mounted displays and gloves to whole-body interaction, thanks to Wii and Kinect,” says Mike Goldstein, president of Amusitronix, which rents portable equipment for virtual experiences. “Now VR is more intuitive and easier for nontechies to use.”

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