Real money is going into virtual worlds.

More than $184 million was funneled to 23 companies that run virtual worlds in the first quarter, according to a new survey.

The study by Virtual Worlds Management, an Austin, Texas-based trade show and research company tallied $184.2 million invested worldwide, with more than one-third of the cash infusions going to youth-oriented virtual worlds.

By far, the largest investment was a reported $100 million investment into 9you.com, a virtual world run by Shanghai-based Everstar Entertainment. That investment was made by Temasek Holdings, a $110 billion Singapore investment house that owns a majority stake in Global Crossing and whose executive director testified before the House Financial Services Committee in March during an inquiry into foreign investment in U.S. companies.

That second largest deal was a $12 million round to Gaia Online from a consortium that included Time Warner.

Another major deal was an $11 million investment in Outspark, a San Francisco-based maker of multiplayer games. The round was led by Chinese Internet firm Tencent with participation from previous investors DCM and Altos Ventures.

A $10 million round from Norwest Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital went to Unisfair, a Menlo Park, California, company that hosts virtual events like business conferences.

In a separate survey, Virtual Worlds Management counted more than 100 virtual worlds, including massively multi-player online games, aimed at the 18-and-under youth market. The number includes live web sites and those under development.

Companies like Disney and Viacom’s Nickelodeon unit have been diving into virtual worlds as stand-alone properties and as adjuncts to existing franchises.

Disney, for instance, bought Club Penguin for $700 million in 2007 and has at least nine more in development, including one based on its animated movie “Cars.” Rival Nickelodeon, which has several sites tied to MTV programming, has plans to build one for fans of SpongeBob Squarepants.

Some of the most popular online worlds are tied to real-world merchandise. Toymaker Mattel has created a virtual home for Barbie and pre-teens have been flocking to the online homes of their Webkinz and Neopets stuffed toys.