ELIZABETH, N.J. — Even as work crews and scientists mobilized over a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, high school students in this city were hard at work cleaning up another spill — in the virtual world.

Students like Christian Lopez jumped into an elaborate video game, called Spill, in which they assumed on-screen identities known as avatars to run cleanup efforts for the mayor of New City. The game, devised to help students sharpen their business acumen and skills, was rolled out in more than 750 schools across the country as part of a business contest in March and April.

“I thought it was going to be easier,” said Mr. Lopez, 18, whose avatar “Chris” made rookie mistakes like showing up in jeans and sneakers for an important meeting with the mayor. His avatar also tried to cut corners in hiring a vendor, only to end up with a former convict. “It’s not bad,” he said, “but you have to make the right decisions.”

While not quite the eye-popping technology of the movie “Avatar,” schools are increasingly offering lessons in the virtual world as an alternative to textbooks and PowerPoint presentations. Teachers and students say the use of avatars and virtual worlds in classes from health to economics pulls in even reluctant learners, and encourages problem-solving and higher-order thinking as classroom knowledge is applied to real-life situations.