Saturday 15 September 2007

Second Life

Web 2.oh brought us such things as Podcasting, Wikis, Blogs, Videos, now Web 3.oh brings us a 3 dimensional world in the form of Second Life.

Second Life is a graphical 3D virtual world. In Second Life, citizens create an avatar, a visual representation of themselves, and this avatar can walk, fly, build, write, laugh, cry and act. The world consists of thousands of continents, islands, and spaces which range from fantasy to virtual reproductions of real spaces. Residents can buy virtual property, and make or buy their own virtual buildings, gardens, classrooms, filming backlots, television studios, and clubs.

Second Life is populated with educators involved in eLearning, artists creating new media, filmmakers who are creating animated movies, fashion designers creating clothes, skins, hairdos, shoes and jewelry for people's avatars, and many other people who bring their real life work into the world. But at the same time, Second Life is populated with people who have created fantasy characters for themselves, people who are engaged in role-playing, creating digital fictional, playing games, and exploring fantastical worlds. The cultural and social aspects of Second Life include raising money for real charities, real time musical performances, real time radio broadcasts, dance clubs, bars, casinos, virtual golfing, yachting, hang gliding, snowboarding, and many other virtual extreme sports.

Additionally, Second Life has its own virtual economy, trading in millions of US dollars each month. The maketplace is populated with virtual storefronts, selling virtual products to enhance the Second Life experience. Educators network, artists perform, people collaborate on projects and real people meet, make friends and fall in love. Whether you want to bring your real world into a virtual environment, or you want to escape your real world and create a fantasy world, Second Life is a unique venue for both. Second Life; Your World. Your Imagination.

Click here to see this in action for the Scottish Learning Festival (Sept 2007)

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