Clinton,

That's a pretty Newtonian "space is a box" worldview, pal...I don't think Hawkings woudl buy it. Even in physics the notion of multiple "universes" is used as a means of explaining some anomalies. And even you will probably allow, for example, that the unbounded and sovereign realm of your own imagination follows some pretty whacky laws if youhold it to the standards of the physical universe.

As for definitions, let me defer to the American Heritage:

1. All matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole. 2a. The earth together with all its inhabitants and created things. b. The human race. 3. The sphere or realm in which something exists or takes place.

Note that definition one is the usual definition of ther materiaal universe. Definition 2b is interesting because it implies a universe of agreement. And definiton 3 would apply to the world of, say, dreams, the future, imagination, or a parallel universe in the physics sense of the term.

A