Use of dynamic bounded regions to improve the scalability of decentralised online environments

A computer program product comprising computer program code means to make a computer execute a procedure for efficiently allocating object responsibility to a controlling peer in a decentralized multi-user online virtual environment, the computer program product comprising:

• computer program code means for dividing the virtual environment into a plurality of cells, and for allocating control of each cell to a responsible peer, each responsible peer participating in a distributed hash table (DHT) to effect integration of the cells to effect the virtual environment;
• computer program code means for determining whether a communications and processing load on the responsible peer controlling a cell has exceeded a threshold, and if so causing a second peer to create and take control responsibility for an object comprising a bounded interest management region covering a region of load;
• and
• computer program code means for removing objects within the bounded interest management region from the associated cell and associating them with the bounded interest management region.