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The MTV Networks channel Nickelodeon is launching a virtual world for kids today, according to a press release. Known as Nicktropolis, the world will be in isometric 3D, and feature games and video content, branded Nickelodeon environments and characters, and the ability to interact with other users and construct one’s own 3D home. The site isn’t quite live yet, but the world looks to be browser-based, though I’m not entirely sure. Nicktropolis will launch with four main areas, described after the jump. These include the kind of gaming elements that arguably make getting into such a world easier than it often is in places like Second Life or There.com.

From the press release:

* “Nickname Lane” is where kids are able to design, furnish and maintain a continuously evolving personal space. Each kid begins with a 3D room of their own, complete with basic furniture and decorations which the player will be able to arrange to their liking using a basic, drag-and-drop style level editor.

* “Nicktoon Boulevard” consists of Nickelodeon property branded rooms. At Nicktropolis’ launch, there will be several branded rooms such as “SpongeBob’s Bikini Bottom,” “Jimmy Neutron’s Retroville,” “Avatar Nation,” and “Danny Phantom’s Amityville.” Users will transform into an avatar from the property themed world (i.e. Plankton avatar in Bikini Bottom) when entering a room in Nicktoon Boulevard, and can chat with favorite Nickelodeon characters as well as other users. Each branded area includes several rooms within that relate to the specific property. For example, “Avatar Nation” features a Fire Tent, Water Palace and a General Market, among others.

* “Downtown Nicktropolis” includes several communal, non-branded rooms, such as: a Rec Center with video games, a screening area, basketball courts and more; the Metro Park which includes a softball field, waterfall, bridge and the forest; a Lounge where you can kick back and watch Nick programming; and Market Street, which serves essentially as the Nicktropolis commerce area for kids to use their NickPoints in the Seasonal Store, Gadget Universe, Décor Nation, Wild Walls and Floors and more.

* The “Pier” is a gaming focused environment where kids will find several games including bumper cars, fortune telling, a fun house and more. Several property themed games will also be introduced throughout various areas of Nicktropolis in the coming weeks. Game participation will tie into the NickPoints economy, and points will be awarded for success. Players can purchase items with their NickPoints to personalize their rooms with such as TVs, with which they can host viewing parties for Nickelodeon tentpole events, chairs or other things.

As 3pointD readers know, I’m quite bullish on this kind of thing, especially given the popularity of 3D virtual worlds for kids, like Club Penguin and Habbo Hotel. And I do think that tying it to a media property like Nickelodeon is important. That’s the kind of thing that drives adoption and lodges the idea of virtual spaces firmly in the minds of the next generation. It will also be interesting to see whether Nickelodeon closes the loop and starts pulling content out of the virtual world and putting it on television, as MTV has done with Virtual Laguna Beach.