Second Life Story

Emily Taflan
Second Life

The Virtual In-World Experience

A Second Life representative announced a new interactive feature called Showcase Thursday morning that will be available to residents of their virtual world.

“The purpose for Showcase is to connect people who are users of this world to the pool content,” Brett Atwood, Web editor for Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, said. “Second Life is full of exciting 3-D spaces that are created entirely by Residents, but some of the best content and communities have been difficult to find until now.”

Atwood said Showcase is like a TV guide for the virtual world of Second Life. The guide features locations such as Weather Channel Island, Virtual Mexico, “CSI: NY” Island and Thomson Reuters Island.

Atwood said that Second Life is not a game. “It is more of a social engagement area,” he said. “There are actual classrooms and training sessions in-world.”

A 3-D voice function was introduced recently to enhance in-world tools and interactions. Second Life residents can talk to each other in addition to communicating via Instant Messaging and through chat functions.

Organizations are taking advantage of the Second Life experience and 3-D voice function through the Second Life Grid. This area is a Website that shows you how you can use 3-D voice for business, education, and non-profit organizational purposes.

Atwood said business organizations like IBM and Nissan are currently using Second Life as a promotional outlet. Nissan’s space even allows Residents to test drive new models of their cars.

Universities and libraries are doing more than just test driving their plot in the virtual world, according to Linden Lab’s Website. Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society opened a campus extension in Second Life. Educational entities make use of the large amphitheaters available in-world to teach classes and give lectures.

The public areas available to business and education are also open to artists said Atwood. U2, a rock group from Dublin, Ireland, recently performed in-world to raise money for ONE organization. This non-profit, humanitarian association utilized this benefit event to help fund their efforts to fight AIDS and extreme poverty.

While organizations make use of their spaces to better their groups, individuals are also attempting to flourish in the virtual world. Atwood said architects often display their work in-world and Residents can pay to have their land developed by these designers. “One woman really took to the space and built sort of a real estate tycoon,” Atwood said. “Some people’s primary income in the real world is from the virtual world.”

According to Linden Lab, Second Life is growing throughout the world with more than 100 countries utilizing the space. On a bad day 45,000 people will visit Second Life, Atwood said. On a good day, the peak nears 65,000. Its business, educational, non-profit, and creative aspects may be used as a unique tool to further global relations.

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