The phrase virtual reality was founded by Jaron Lanier (the founder of VPL research). The goal of virtual reality is to create an environment in which one can be completely emersed. Unlike the virtual system, augmented reality is a combination of virtual reality and a real world scene. For more information and a closer look at the differences between virtual and augmented reality, refer to http://www.se.rit.edu/~jrv/research/ar/introduction.html#Section1.1