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Digital information technology has made human beings move into a mixed space where virtuality and reality are integrated. Maps, that have always been used as the abstraction and interpretation of the real world and assist us to cognize the real world, are facing new challenges. Under the new digital and communication situations, maps need to incorporated digital virtual spaces and analyze the impacts brought by virtuality and reality, nihility and existence and the interpromotion of void and solid. Game maps are suitable carrier in this paper to analyze and discover the relations between the virtuality and the reality. Game map has seven elements including the time, the place, the personage, the object, the event, the phenomenon and the scenario to describe the world. This paper analyzes their virtual and real characteristics, explores the relationships and the interactions between virtual world construction and the reality, and discusses their feedback to the real world. This research can enrich the theoretical system of cartography and facilitate planning a smarter and more pleasant society for us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cartography is a subject whose development was partially restricted due to historical conditions. Compared with the traditional map, driven by new technology and new demands, the mapping objects, representation form, perception channel and user role of maps have all undergone significant changes in the in‐ formation and communication technology (ICT) era. Therefore, the theoretical framework of cartography needs to be further adapted to the ICT era. This paper firstly analyzes the main characteristics of maps in the ICT era, then discusses the concepts and the scope of representation of modern maps in the new era, and finally tries to build the framework of modern maps including the representation object, information abstraction, map representation and map outcomes. This study is expected to clarify the boundary of extended connotation of cartography research and provide corresponding support for the future development of cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]