1. Forbes (USA) – The Second Life Hype Has Fizzled—Is Twitter Next? “Second Life is still a vibrant virtual world—with over 12.2 million registered users and more than 54,000 online the last time I logged in—but you wouldn’t know it from the media coverage (or lack thereof) lately. It wasn’t always this way, as MediaShift’s Mark Glaser recounts, in a post covering how Second Life’s media hype has fizzled.”

2. Mediashift (USA) – Reuters Closes Second Life Bureau, but (Virtual) Life Goes On. “The sun shines brightly as I stroll along the curving pier above the water, looking out toward a beautiful island with trees swaying in the wind. There’s a looming ampitheater festooned with signs for Thomson Reuters, and a series of concrete buildings that appear ready to hold important meetings. I stride in confidently through the doorway… You might think I was describing a trip to visit Reuters in the UK, but really, I was strolling through the virtual world of Second Life (SL), visiting the Thomson Reuters island, now largely vacant. The island symbolizes the efforts of media companies not only to cover life in the virtual world of Second Life, but also to live there and set up virtual offices. Reuters made waves by setting up a bureau in SL, with reporters Adam Pasick and Eric Krangel covering stories about the virtual currency and the startup businesses springing up in-world.”

3. Computerworld (New Zealand) – Reality is broken so go virtual, says games developer. “Web developers and designers have a lot to gain by looking to the virtual world, because compared to the gaming world, reality is broken, says Jane McGonigal, game designer and director of game research and development at the Institute for the Future, a California-based non-profit research group. People are not as happy and fulfilled in reality as they are in online, virtual realities, such as World of Warcraft, McGonigal told the audience at developer and designer conference Webstock, which kicked off on yesterday in Wellington. ”

4. Telepresence Options (USA) – The Case for 4D Immersive Holographic Spaces. “The United States of America has steadily fallen further and further behind Asian and European nations with respect to broadband penetration and related services. This is impeding the development of new consumer applications (and related new industry and services) and limiting communications in an economy where knowledge exchange is vital in order to be to be a major player of the emerging , seamless and unobstructed global market. Reversing this trend may be of high interest to the incoming administration, but the viability of extending broadband is dependent on the deployment of new high bandwidth and high value applications that (a) will justify the investments required and (b) will contribute digital solutions to many of the key societal problems in this Energy-Climate Era (as recently identified by Thomas L. Friedman in his book Hot, Flat and Crowded) such as growing demand for ever scarcer energy supplies and natural energy, rapid and accelerating biodiversity loss, and disruptive climate change.”

5. Atlanta Journal Constitution (USA) – Gamers want to look rivals in eye. “he scene unfolding one recent Friday evening at Cyberdome in Easton, Pa., couldn’t be sweeter for a group of teenage boys poised for a night out with friends. Teens and tweens, ages 12 to 19, popped open cans of caffeine-loaded Liquid Lightning, slouched into the kind of swivel chairs executives use and centered themselves behind 20-inch screens, the windows into their virtual worlds for the night. “This is Disney World for them,” said Cyberdome’s owner Mark Dressel, who was hosting the all-night video game lock-in for nearly 20 area teens.”

6. Gameplanet (New Zealand) – The Sims 3 Q&A session. “With over a hundred million units shipped to date, you can’t deny that The Sims is one popular franchise.
Developers Maxis started the series nearly a decade ago, after venerable designer Will Wright insisted he could take their immensely popular SimCity series in a new direction and make a “people sim”. The concept of manipulating people sitting in their houses whilst you sat in yours was, perhaps surprisingly, a hit, and even after seven expansions the series is still going from strength to strength.”

7. The Malaysian Star (Malaysia) – Philips extends invitation to its virtual island. “PHILIPS is inviting Malaysians to take a peek at its virtual R&D island located in Linden Lab’s Second Life where virtual concepts are being tested and visitors can participate in co-designing the projects. The company called the island its collaborative working space for the real and virtual worlds, which provides the opportunity to research ideas with creative global early adaptors of new trends. “It fits with the company’s philosophy that design should be based around people and grounded in research,” said Dolf Wittkämper, senior director of Philips Design.”

8. Campus Technology (USA) – Real-Life Teaching in a Virtual World. “Few technologies have been subject to more hype and subsequent disappointment than Second Life. Corporations from shoe manufactures to cruise lines to news services set up shop with hopes this new frontier would bring soaring profits. Most evacuated shortly thereafter when the effort resulted in spaces devoid of audiences and buyers. A notable exception, though, is education. Education is thriving in Second Life. This enthusiastic subculture is abuzz within the Second Life realm, constantly interacting inside and outside Second Life. Educators are exploring every possible tool the 3D virtual world offers and establishing best practices along the way.”

9. Virtual Worlds News (USA) – Interoperability Gaining Steam Again? “In Fall 2007, interoperability was the buzz word surrounding our show in San Jose. IBM had organized a summit of leaders from the industry and announced plans with Linden Lab to work on avatar interoperability. Things died down a bit after that as individuals returned to their own projects, but IBM, Linden, and others continued to work to integrate OpenSim and Second Life, which OpenSim is based on. It looks like things are picking up again, at least for Linden and IBM, which are co-chairing the Internet Engineering Task Force’s Massive Multiplayer Online Experiences working group.”

10. RedOrbit (USA) – Microsoft To Study Educational Benefits Of Video Games. “Devin Krauter sits on the end of his bed, using his video game controller to shoot down aliens while taking with other players through a headset, all the while texting on his cell phone and chatting with a visitor. A video game Web site ranks the 17-year-old high school junior among the best players at “Gears of War 2,” a game in which soldiers fight their enemies using an assault rifle with a mounted chain saw bayonet. Krauter says the game teaches him to think on his feet, and that he thinks about succeeding, not slaying.”

1. Los Angeles Times (USA) – Virtual Muslim world bans drinking, sex. “Ever wanted to experience life in the Muslim world but didn’t have enough money to fly to Cairo? The first-ever virtual version of the Muslim world was recently launched online. Muxlim Pal lets you adopt an animated avatar and interact with others online in a virtual world governed by the rules of Islam. You can shop, socialize in a beach cafe and, of course, pray at a mosque. Aimed at Muslims and non-Muslims, the website aims to foster understanding and communication between East and West.”

2. CNET (USA) – Littlest Pet Shop virtual world about to yipLittlest Pet Shop is going virtual.
Those tiny, plastic creatures with the larger-than-life googly eyes are set to come to life in the virtual world this fall, with manufacturer Hasbro and gaming giant Electronic Arts teaming up to launch the site, the companies said Thursday. The site, which will be banking on the popularity of the 2-inch idols, will be jumping into a tween market that is already heavily populated with the likes of the Webkinz, Disney’s Club Penguin, and start-up Dizzywood. Once launched, the Littlest Pet Shop site aims to offer preteens the ability to customize their favorite pets, participate in games and events on the site, and dive into social networking with friends.”

3. The Nation (Thailand) – Sun Microsystems and Kasetsart University drive Virtual World Innovation in Thailand with ‘Project Wonderland’ Technology. “Sun Microsystems (Thailand) and Kasetsart University launch the ‘Wonderland Challenge 2009’ – a competition encouraging students to innovate and develop rich multimedia 3D virtual worlds using Project Wonderland, a 100% Java toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. Project Wonderland is an open source project currently supported by Sun Microsystems Laboratories, Sun’s research and development group. The objective of the ‘Wonderland Challenge 2009’ is to initiate the Education 3.0 movement and raise greater public awareness of the potential impact of emerging Virtual World Technologies in Thailand. This nationwide challenge is open to students who will be pitting their skills against their peers to create an innovative 3D virtual learning environment with ‘Project Wonderland’, a powerful open source solution that enables developers to build a collaborative virtual world easily.”

4. Religion Dispatches (USA) – Dreaming Cyborg Dreams: Virtual Identity and Religious Experience. “If it is true that, as theorist Sherry Turkle has claimed, that in our increasingly mediated world “we are all dreaming cyborg dreams,” it is certainly safe to say that at least some of these dreams are religious ones. In this essay, I look at four types of immersive new media that address the issue of religious identity: Waco Resurrection, a religiously-inspired first-person shooter, Noah’s Ark, a religious online reality show; Roma Victor, a massive multiplayer online role-playing game, and religious experiences in the online world of Second Life.”

5. MSNBC (USA) – Fantastic plastic? Barbie’s changing role. “Since its introduction to the toy world in 1959, the 11.5-inch plastic sensation originally known as Barbie Millicent Roberts has reflected the rise of the modern woman in society. But 50 years later, Mattel faces a challenge to sell the iconic dolls amid worldwide economic woes. And then there’s the biggest challenge Barbie faces — beating Barbie’s modern rivals in the marketplace. In a world where “hip” dolls are those with higher hemlines, sexy heels and heavy makeup. Can the more traditional Barbie survive another half century?”

6. Eureka! Science News (Canada) – Tracking the digital traces of social networks. “Why do we create and maintain social networks? Most people can immediately think of a few natural reasons — we get something from the interaction, or the person is nearby and is close to us in proximity, age or gender. But researching such theories on a large scale has never before been possible — until digital social networks came along. Noshir Contractor, the Jane S. and William J. White Professor of Behavioral Sciences at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, has studied the massive online virtual world Second Life to test whether these and other social theories are true.”

7. New Scientist (UK) –Valentine’s Day Special: The dating game. “IF YOU’RE looking for love, chances are you have considered the online dating scene. According to Mark Brooks, editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com, half of singletons in the US – around 40 million people – now use internet dating. And a fair number, around 20 per cent, find long-term romance that way. So what is the best strategy? Psychologists who study romance are fascinated by this question as cyberspace changes all the rules. Online, you can be who you want to be. Just ask David Pollard. Pollard’s avatar in Second Life is Dave Barmy, a sharp-dressing hunk with flowing locks, designer stubble and sunglasses. Real-life David is bald, fat and being divorced by his wife after she caught him having an online affair with another Second Life avatar.”

8. The Guardian (UK) – The killer app? Metaverse makes 3D games 2D. “A big problem for virtual worlds and other MMO environments is the gargantuan amount of space, processing power and RAM they take up on a computer. Developers have been chasing what they believe is the holy grail for some time – pared down, browser-based versions of the same content that feeds back into the full version of the game seamlessly. There was, for example, a text version of Second Life. ActiveWorlds resurfaced in 2007 when they announced a Facebook app of their virtual world. Still others, like the forthcoming Metaplace, have done away with downloadable content altogether, opting instead for browser-only experiences.”

9. Walrus Magazine (Canada) – Let’s All Be Neighbours on Will Wright Street. “I am a wriggling, water-borne spore. My life depends on how vigilantly I navigate treacherous currents full of predators. I chase drifting morsels of decaying flesh (my food), and kill off rivals (for what their brains, when consumed, might unlock in my own consciousness). For a scavenger like myself, these are inspiring waters, and after a few minutes of bottom feeding I advance up the food chain. Now I am a trematode, one of those ghastly liver flukes you get when you drink from the banks of the Mekong River. I look like a cartoon hot dog with eye stalks and tusks.”

10. New York Times (USA) – How Google Decides to Pull the Plug. “GOOGLE recently set the blogosphere abuzz by announcing that it was pulling the plug on several products. The victims included Lively, a virtual world that was Google’s answer to Second Life; Dodgeball, a cellphone service aimed at young bar-hoppers who wanted to let their friends know where they were hanging out; Catalog Search, which scanned paper product catalogs so they could be searched online; and Notebook, a simple tool that allowed people to take notes on Web sites they had visited.”