From ChinaTechNews:

[T]he world’s first online game theme park, the Universal Digital Carnival Valley, is planned for a location by the Tai Lake in Jiangsu province’s Changzhou.

The theme park, which is expected to complete construction in 2010, focuses on the themes of anime games and e-sports.

Jointly invested by Changzhou Wujin Taihu Bay Tourist Company and the Singapore-owned Jiangsu Kaixuan Digital Culture Industry Base, the Universal Digital Carnival Valley covers a total area of 350,000 square meters, featuring nine digital culture and e-sports experience sectors such as Hero Gate, Taobao Street, QQ Fantasy, Mir World, Star World, Warcraft Land, Secret Island, Happy Harbor and World Digital Culture Temple.

My first reaction is that there could be some first-rate IP infringement going on here. My second thought is more charitable — this is probably a licensed/pay-for-exposure type of operation.

My third reaction is that this is kinda creepy. Do I really want to see some doofus designer try to capture the "essence" of a game in real life? I don’t think there is any way to do it without making the whole thing seem childish and stupid. Kind of like people going from playing Halo to doing paintball.

Here’s another way to put it. When’s the last time you say a good movie that was an adaptation of a game? Think about the Mortal Kombat series and Tomb Raider, just to name a couple, and you’ll get my point.

The virtual world is a heck of a lot more exciting, unless maybe you’re four years old. Or wasted on controlled substances.

Update: Shanghaiist tells us about the WoW restaurant.