Described herein are some embodiments that use smart objects in a virtual universe to conserve computing resources. Some embodiments describe detecting that a virtual object of the virtual universe enters a resource conservation area in the virtual universe. Some embodiments further include, in response to determining that the virtual object enters the resource conservation area, detecting that the virtual object has a setting that enables automatic reduction of display quality of the virtual object from a first display quality level. Some embodiments further include, in response to determining that the virtual object has the setting that enables the automatic reduction in display quality from the first display quality setting, automatically reducing the display quality of the virtual object from the first display quality level to a second display quality level less than the first display quality level.