The articles by well-known international experts intend to facilitate more elaborate expositions of the research presented at the seminar, and to collect and document the results of the various discussions, including ideas and open problems that were identified. Correspondingly the book will consist of two parts. Part I will consist of extended articles describing research presented at the seminar. This will include papers on tracking, motion capture, displays, cloth simulation, and applications. Part II will consist of articles that capture the results of breakout discussions, describe visions, or advocate particular positions. This will include discussions about system latency, 3D interaction, haptic interfaces, social gaming, perceptual issues, and the fictional "Holodeck".

During the week of June 1–6, 2008, the Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz Center for Informatics held a first-of-its-kind seminar in the area of Virtual Reality. Being the first seminar in this area, both the organizers and the participants were not completely sure what to expect from this event beforehand. In retrospect, we rate this Dagstuhl seminar as a great success: it was the ideal venue to define and discuss key topics and to initiate new collaborations.