SpaceJunky – Australian Second Life band doing well

I received a press release today from Australian Second Life resident Bella Dutton about music outfit SpaceJunky. The whole virtual band thing is far from new (I was involved in one in 1994) but it’s great to see another Australian artist doing well.

The full text:

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Australian band SpaceJunky follows path from Tibet to Virtual Reality to the Next Big Thing

Tunes Island, SecondLife, (Jan 24, 2008) – This Thursday through the weekend millions of viewers around the world will have a chance to learn about an Australian band whose efforts to reach the public have taken the road less traveled, to say the least. Digress a few years: Tania Smith (known in SL as Shakti Cianci), lead singer and founder of Australian cosmic pop/rock band SpaceJunky traveled to Tibet and asked a Tibetan oracle in his temple if her band would ever be heard by the world. After rolling the dice an unusual four times and pondering for some moments he looked at her and simply said “yes”.

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Flash forward to a year ago: Tania was searching the internet for an ancient Tibetan symbol that scholars like Robert Thurman of Tibet House were unable to decipher, and her search returned a link to a virtual online world she had never heard of before called SecondLife.

Tania then decides to re-create her band members in SL, eventually recruiting the help of a virtual publicist, stage manager and lighting designer, photographer, and other supporters on her team, with the intention of creating a virtual experience of a SpaceJunky concert in SL.

Now to the present: SpaceJunky’s shows are always packed and through their growing popularity they have gained fans around the world, sold cds, gotten real-world radio play and magazine covers, YouTube fan videos, offers to air their upcoming video and real life product endorsements….just like in real life.

So this week SpaceJunky are being featured in a CNN interview called the Next Big Thing with CNN Chief Technology and Environment correspondent Miles O’Brien whose attention was caught by their innovative use of cutting edge technology to promote their band. O’Brien has also long wanted to be the first news correspondent in space, so SpaceJunky had a virtual spaceship built in space for the interview, which will be aired on CNN and CNN International Jan 24 through the 27th.

All this is made more important by the fact that Tania and bandmates Luke Mason and Dan Harris live separately in the USA, Malaysia and Australia.
“Our dilemma is that our band members now live on three continents in three time zones on opposite sides of the planet, so being a band in Second Life allows us to promote our music and stay connected through the internet. Hopefully it will allow us to do what we really do, which is play live in real life too.” As professional musicians who have worked with large touring bands such as Kylie Minogue and stood on some of the world’s largest stages, they find it ironic that recognition might come to them as an animated virtual act.

Tania credits this cosmic journey to her Tibetan guidance, and as such is helping various Tibetan causes including aiding the project to build the Potala Palace in SecondLife, where the real life Dalai Lama himself will be invited to visit, and if so she will have the opportunity to sing for His Holiness. Tania admits that honor would be “virtually amazing”. “

Singapore’s Mirror World shows business promise

I received a press release today from Singapore-based company ‘Virtual Worlds’, touting their Mirror World which is under development and due for launch at the end of this year. The full text of the press release is below by essentially it’s a platform that will allow creation of replicas of real-world locations for the purpose of 3D walk-throughs. It’s aimed squarely at tourism operators and its appeal is obvious. Never been to Egypt? Then do the virtual tour of key locations and decide if it’s the holiday for you.

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It looks promising but like any new development it will face the challenge of a growing number of competitors. Interoperability with other worlds is a holy grail for any option at this stage but any new development needs to take the growing movement in that respect into account.

We’ll be following this development closely and hope to do a more detailed preview in coming months.

The full text:

PRESS RELEASE

22 January 2008, Singapore — Virtual Worlds , developers of the world’s first “Mirror World” ,announces the availability of the world’s first platform for virtual tourism to industry operators today in Singapore.

From key tourism destinations, places of interest , historical sites to realistic full scale 3-Dimensional replicas of entire cities. This mirror world of our existing planet – “Mirror World” allows end users to journey through “virtual words” in the comfort of their homes – creating a brand new exciting marketing tool for tourism industry players like tourism destination operators, Hoteliers, Shopping Malls, Retail Outlets and more to showcase and sell their destinations and facilities to key markets around the world.

What sets Mirror World apart from other 3D environment developers in the market is its commitment to the recreation of reality. All images, environments, content and cityscapes are designed to be as life-like and accurate as possible to the real world. A Beta version of the software with the capability to show certain parts of the world is already available today. The technology today allows support for up to a million objects per view area as well as sound and music , complete with special effects showing realistic weather patterns and powerful animation effects. Providing the most realistic virtual reality tour of any destination available in the market today. The company is already in discussions on several projects with tourism authorities and facilities operators in the region to build 3D replicas of their existing sites. Virtual Worlds expects to completely map the globe in phases, providing a brand new exciting, interactive platform for vacation , travel planning and learning.

Another interesting factor about the platform lies in its ability to be able to import exsiting 3D drawings of existing infrastructure and buildings . That means we can do a
very rapid buildup of the location. Targeted for a world wide launch in end 2008, consumers will be able to explore parts of the world in 3D, meet and chat with friends from all over the world all from their desktop over a internet connection and most importantly win prizes to travel around the world.

“This is an important and necessary step in the development of Virtual Worlds,” said Terence Mak, Director of Virtual Worlds Asia. “Virtual Worlds has always been depicted with a fantasy, its about time we changed that thinking and use of the same technology to make the world a smaller place. Air Travel & Tourism is booming with the availability of budget airlines, consumers are beginning to be more world conscious, what is missing is a technology and a platform to showcase the World in 3D to a global audience. We hope to be the partner with many of the worlds interesting places and help them showcase what they are doing to make the world a more interesting place.”

A more global site will be announced later in the year. For more information, please visit the Virtual Worlds Site.

Update: an interview with Terence Mak can be found here.

Two key reports released on Second Life and education / non-profit sectors

The first is entitled: Best Practices from the Second Life Community Convention Education Track 2007 and was prepared by Cathy Arreguin, MA Educational Technology.

Get the report here or further details on it here

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The second is Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life – Fall 2007 by Rik Panganiban.

Get the report here or further details on it here

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If you work in either the education or non-profit sector these are well worth a read.

Death Of A Skeptic Part 2

Continuing on from Part 1, Bix Ashbourne describes his early days as a Second Life resident:

I start wandering. Rude people, silent people, gregarious people, bothersome people, strange people, oddly dressed people…is this Los Angeles? So much for a different life. Armed with the in-world names of some real-life friends, I discover the search function, and ultimately, them. Kat, an in-world designer and RL computer genius and discussion board friend, comes to my rescue, showing me places to go, standing patiently while I avoid the type of nervous breakdown that only comes with information overload. Shows me some freebies, gives me some landmarks, then offers to tweak my avatar for me to de-burr me of the Noob flash. I let her in on my password, and a little while later, voila`! I am now ready to swing in SL, rolled denim pant cuffs notwithstanding.

I go back to one of the landmarks that Kat had given me, a public gathering place called The Shelter. A wonderful place for noobs, although, in retrospect, I might have chosen a more subtle experience, with less flash, motion, and conversation. I am befriended by a very sexy woman named Willa. The experience with her simply reinforces all the good things I’ve discovered, thus far, about SL, and she is alluring, the conversation flows very well, the mutual attraction kicks into high gear. After a while, the heat is on, and we TP to a new location.

It is at this point that I discover I’m gonna have to get a penis.

This had, until this moment, escaped me; my one real-life penis exists in a state of recluse that makes Howard Hughes look like tabloid fodder, getting a cartoon penis is not even on the radar, as I’m still trying to acclimate to the movement controls, let alone appearance sliders and what not. Regardless of this minor detail, Willa and I have a very good time, and I am not only reminded of the power of words, but have also been exposed to their power in a new context. I also come to the realization–pun thoroughly intended and application expected–that this particular activity, in the context of SL, is a veritable “interactive porn”. With the addition of voice chat, which I am thoroughly aware exists yet I do not, at this time, participate in, I can easily see how the level of satisfaction get raised several notches.

There’s a line, here…a line one can sit right on the knife-edge of…and it’s the line between organic and electronic. You begin to question the human experience in organic terms, wondering how it is one can get some satisfaction from a non-tangible, fabricated, yet near-wholly interactive experience. Here we are, lonely, stretching out across the world in our beds, our chairs, our desks, getting pleasure from someone we’ve never met but is, nonetheless, NOT a total stranger. Speed dating, with graphics. When you realize that scientists are working on developing organic circuitry and components, ostensibly with intent to make production less toxic to the environment but also opening up the door to someplace for mankind to go when the human body has become outdated, the mind becomes filled with the stuff you only read about in science fiction stories as a kid.

Love in the ether, lust as binary.

A stream of numbers now has the burden of carrying our stream of consciousness, our desires, our joy, our anger. Human, organic passion has now ramped up its dependence on copper wires, surface-mount components, blinking lights, mega-corporation call centers, and the piloting skills of UFO pilots to avoid our clunky, gum-and-duct-tape satellites. (I wonder what the alien equivalent of duct tape is. I wonder if they depend on it as much as we do. Surely, they’ve advanced enough they don’t need to carry wallets.) I can feel the detachment from RL beginning. I don’t know if I’m sad to say it feels good.

Willa informs me that she’s seeing a modest handful of avatars, and can’t find herself to commit to only one, the news of which simultaneously fails to surprise me and stings a little. So much for keeping RL and SL separate, I suppose. I do the software equivalent of a shrug, and accept what’s been thrown at me. We have one more encounter; over the course of time, she decides that she does want to be with one, and one only. Naturally, I am not it. We stay in touch, on occasion. We know a lot about each other’s real lives, have shared some deep conversations and relied on each other for a shoulder; we DO have good conversation. There’s still a small, soft spot in my digital heart for the woman, somewhere.

It’s at this point that I realize that which I already knew, but have now deemed it too late in life to do anything about; I can’t be fake about anything. I bring myself into everything I do, SL not excepted. As I wander back into the grid, I begin to realize, over the course of time, that SL is a virtual “do-over”… you get a chance to try out interactions that failed in the past, work on them, tinker with them; you can beta-test new approaches, with the worst-case scenario being having to find a landmark to TP to, and fast.

Fortunately, the face slaps in SL don’t leave marks. Let’s hope no-one scripts those.

Furries, sexuality and griefing: one viewpoint

I received an email today from well-known Australian Second Life resident Wolfie Rankin, with some fascinating thoughts on sexuality, furries and the issue of griefing. His views in full below – the only alterations are changes to spelling and capitalisation:

“Some interesting things have come to light during a discussion with a friend who’s an Officer at a large Furry Sim.

It turns out that a lot of griefers, including those in well known griefing groups, are Furries themselves.

This will sound strange, but here’s how it works.

Furry #1 has a bad fallout with his Gay lover on Secondlife, So rather than taking it on the chin, decides to seek revenge… returns to SL as an Alt, loads up with weapons, and griefs. He may target his former lover or grief the entire sim where they hung out.

Or another scenario is that he asks someone in a griefing group to do it for him.

How do we know for certain?

Well it turned out that quite a few from that certain SL griefing group also had accounts on a well known furry art page and had used similar names to the ones on that art page.

Once this information came to light, quite a few from this well known griefing group suddenly left it.

I’m not putting Furries down, as you know, I’m one myself… However, it’s well known that some Furries are also huge “Drama Queens” who whine a lot and cause the rest of us to grind our teeth. They’d be the best candidates for this kind of thing.

Also, I’m not saying that griefing groups are entirely made up of furries, that’s not true.

It’s very clear now, that many who go griefing and target potential gay areas of SL, have personal sexual issues… For instance, a young lad who’s having feelings, but can’t cope with the idea that he might be gay, might takes it out on others who he either thinks are gay, or are openly gay.

In other words, he’s trying to assert his heterosexuality by targeting anything even loosely considered to be “gay”

Saying that it’s done for “Lulz” is simply a thin veil hiding larger problems, when you spend hours in the day griefing SL and then making a video of it for YouTube, there’s definately something not quite right.

People who are secure in their sexuality would never worry if the bloke up the road is gay or bi or whatever”.

It’s an interesting take and there’s no doubt those sexually conflicted may adopt aggressive measures to assert one viewpoint. One of the key opportunities and challenges that virtual worlds offer is exploration of social issues like sexual identity. What are your thoughts on the issue – is the viewpoint above a valid one?

Starfighters Wanted: Apply @ NASA

Back in 1984 there was science fiction adventure movie called The Last Starfighter. The storyline involved Alex, a teenage boy, hitting the top-score on a video game which turns out to be a recruitment device for the League (the goodies) who are doing battle with the Xur and Kodan (the baddies).

Even before 1984 various science fiction styled games have developed, along with the technology. Games such as World of Warcraft, Halo and Quake are today’s better known ones, much to the dismay of parents and some spouses, no doubt.

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Where does NASA fit in on this?

Game developers have until February 15 to submit their ideas for a “Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Learning Game” that promotes the delivery of “NASA relevant content through innovative applications of technologies to enhance education”.

The intent by NASA appears to be to build a stand-alone virtual world that could act as a meaningful “hands-on” tool supporting education in “…a range of complex subjects, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) based instruction”.

A quick search of the internet shows that NASA has quite a few traditional website based education and information areas but in the realm of alternative realities there is only a passing mention. For example, their area in Second Life: NASA Colab Island.

NASA’s call for submissions to build an MMO will be interesting in both the gaming aspect of the project and its intended education focus as it joins a growing number of private and governmental organisations that are establishing either game or virtual world presence for the express purpose of education and training.

Coupled with the recent publicised findings that surgeons in training benefit from using Wii suggests the convergence between online lives and education would appear to be a given, if not a virtual reality.

University of Melbourne seeks Second Life residents for research

I received a message today from Greg Wadley, a researcher at the University of Melbourne. In his words:

“I would like to interview Second Life residents about their reactions to communicating by voice in-world. I’m looking for any SL residents, whether they like voice, hate it, or have not tried it yet. Interviews can be in SL, RL, email, phone, with coffee (if in Melbourne) — whatever is convenient. However I cannot pay interviewees. There is an official project description at my uni staff page. Thanks in advance, Greg”.

If you’re interested contact Greg on phone (03) 83441586 or email greg.wadley@unimelb.edu.au

Griffith University in Second Life

Griffith University, located over 5 campuses in the real world between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in Queensland, is yet another Australian tertiary institution entering Second Life. It could be considered their sixth campus.

The island presence of Griffith University is the brain child of Jason Zagami, a lecturer in the School of Education and Professional Studies. One of Griffith’s e-learning fellowship recipients, James has chosen to initiate their presence in Second Life as a means of exploring e-learning in a way that promotes a more social experience. A full explanation of his goals can be found on the External Relations page.

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The island involves a number of areas for small group tutorial and class sessions along with a large North East Research Zone and another one called the South East Zone.

I’ll check back with the Griffith presence as it evolves. Deakin University has a Second Life presence in development right next door to the Griffith build so the Australian university contingent is a burgeoning one.

Check it out in-world

World Stock Exchange to continue business

As promised earlier in the week, we managed to catch up with Australia-based CEO of Second Life’s World Stock Exchange (WSE), Luke Connell (Second Life: LukeConnell Vandeverre). I’ve interviewed him a couple of times and the stories always garner a lot of attention.

I need to preface this interview with some kudos for Luke Connell – I IM’d him without notice and he took part in the interview below. Nothing particularly laudable about that. What I found impressive was his agreement for an unedited transcript to appear. As we wrapped up he did ask for the interview to be used as background only, but when I reinforced my intention to publish in full, he agreed. The WSE rightly receives criticism for a lack of transparency in some of what it does but in this case some light has been shed on the thoughts of someone who’s a significant player in virtual world finance. It’s also worth having a listen to the audio announcement currently front and centre on the WSE website as it sets the context for the interview.

If you’d rather not read the whole thing, the main points were:

1. That the WSE is continuing with its current upgrade and intends on reopening as planned.
2. I spent quite a bit of time querying the whole fictional currency argument, to which Luke Connell repeatedly maintained the WSE is a purely fictional exchange. His argument essentially was that if people are investing in virtual stock markets or banks with a view to making real-life profits then there’s a fundamental issue in the way that service has been promoted.

Now for the transcript – the only changes are corrections of spelling:

[20:22] Lowell Cremorne: Hi Luke, happy new year. Was just interested in any comment you had to make on the Linden banking policy – have you got any further clarity from Linden on whether WSE is acceptable or not?

[20:23] LukeConnell Vandeverre: Hi, sure, www.wselive.com then turn your speakers on hehe

[20:30] Lowell Cremorne: thanks for that – have had a listen – is it fair to summarise WSE’s view that the new policy doesn’t affect WSE’s operations and that WSE will no longer offer ATM’s with interest

[20:31] LukeConnell Vandeverre: exactly
[20:31] LukeConnell Vandeverre: our WSE ATM will remain
[20:32] LukeConnell Vandeverre: we will no longer be paying interest on deposits from those ATMs

[20:32] Lowell Cremorne: and I know we’ve discussed this many times before but I notice you really emphasise the fictionality of the currencies being traded – can you explain how you intend on ever being profitable if you truly believe that WIC and Linden Dollars are fictional – i.e. I’m assuming you’d never cash out Lindens for US dollars as can occur on the Lindex?

[20:33] LukeConnell Vandeverre: it’s profitable in terms of fictional currency
[20:34] LukeConnell Vandeverre: The WSE has linden dollar and world internet currency profits only
[20:34] LukeConnell Vandeverre: therefore the virtual business does not deal in real currency
[20:35] LukeConnell Vandeverre: if the license to use those currencies were to be no longer exchangeable for real currency then there would be no real currency involved in the process of acquiring fictional currency

[20:36] Lowell Cremorne: but you know as well as I that setting up WSE would have utilised real world funds and therefore there’s a need for a return on investment – how can you possibly claim you’d never cash out Linden Dollars for US dollars?

[20:36] LukeConnell Vandeverre: setting up wse did not utilise real world funds, it was all done with linden dollars
[20:38] LukeConnell Vandeverre: i’m not saying i’ve never sold my licensed right ot use linden dollars, i’m saying that side of the business has nothing to do with the service I provide

[20:38] Lowell Cremorne: but you must have used real world money to buy the island WSE is now situated on?

[20:39] LukeConnell Vandeverre: yes that part is not WSE though, that is Hope Capital Island

[20:40] Lowell Cremorne: i’m not trying to catch you out on anything here – I’m just always fascinated at your absolute adherence to a view that the currency is totally fictional when the tax office, ASIC and pretty much anyone in the sector has the opposite view

[20:40] LukeConnell Vandeverre: they don’t have an opposite view
[20:40] LukeConnell Vandeverre: firstly ASIC made no official statement and neither has the tax department
[20:41] LukeConnell Vandeverre: ASIC is not involved because the WSE is not providing real life investment services or securities services
[20:42] LukeConnell Vandeverre: The ATO will only tax real life income from real currency

[20:42] Lowell Cremorne: ok let’s put this another way – if you were so convinced that the tax office and ASIC don’t have an opposite view then why the concern about ever admitting that the WIC or Linden Dollars traded on the WSE can be used to make real world profits?

[20:43] LukeConnell Vandeverre: what are you talking about
[20:43] LukeConnell Vandeverre: I think its just that there is confusion
[20:44] LukeConnell Vandeverre: What I am saying is this: the WSE and HCL make fictional currency profits

[20:44] Lowell Cremorne: There is definitely confusion – you maintain that everything you do is fictional in nature yet both yourself and anyone making profits from the WSE as an investor can cash out tomorrow in US dollars

[20:45] LukeConnell Vandeverre: the license to use that fictional currency can be sold for real currency just like any other product and then I can receive real currency, that is how the system works
[20:46] LukeConnell Vandeverre: sure you’re buying a right to use the fictional currency (game tokens) and the value of that right is based on an assigned exchange rate and the amount of fictional currency under control at the time the license is exchanged.
[20:47] LukeConnell Vandeverre: if you end up with more fictional currency (game tokens) and there are sufficient buyers for your licensed right to use the currency then you can sell your license
[20:47] LukeConnell Vandeverre: these are simply the terms and conditions that apply, much like an unlimited internet service provider says Unlimited however conditions apply
[20:48] LukeConnell Vandeverre: what is important here is not the license or the real currency exchange, it is how the service is being presented to the customers
[20:49] LukeConnell Vandeverre: We make it clear to our customers who use the services we provide that it is not real, holds no real value and it is not an investment and does not provide investment opportunities
[20:50] LukeConnell Vandeverre: that is being very candid, open and honest to our customers so that they can enjoy the service, and so that they do not claim that they were misled or tricked into thinking it was anything other than what we say it is

[20:50] Lowell Cremorne: well I’d argue it’s all equally important as most people who decide to invest Linden Dollars with you or anyone else tend to realise it equates to real life money they’ve spent – hence the latest Linden Lab policy on banking. I personally would be surprised if virtual stock exchanges don’t in future get a lot more regulation because there’s no more guarantee of keeping your money than the ATM’s that have just been banned

[20:51] LukeConnell Vandeverre: how?
[20:51] LukeConnell Vandeverre: they invested linden dollars in a game not a real market
[20:51] LukeConnell Vandeverre: it’s not a real investment
[20:52] LukeConnell Vandeverre: the only investment they made was when they paid the fictional currency provider for the licensed right to use that currrency knowing full well the terms of service of that currency provider

[20:52] Lowell Cremorne: Because if I invest $50 000 Lindens I automatically do the maths and realise that equates to X Australian dollars. Given entities like the WSE have no real regulation, there’s no reason you can’t close the WSE tomorrow and I lose my money

[20:52] LukeConnell Vandeverre: and buying fictional currency isn’t an investment it is purchasing game to participate in the fictional economy which is a feature of a product provided by linden lab

[20:53] Lowell Cremorne: which is not the way the majority of people tend to see their investment

[20:53] LukeConnell Vandeverre: No need to speculate on why Linden Lab released their policy other than to go by what they said were the reasons, virtual banks have resulted in the loss of linden dollars from residents in the virtual economy and that has a negative impact on the user experience in their virtual world

[20:54] Lowell Cremorne: Absolutely – so from the audio announcement on the site you’re supportive of that and I assume that if/when LL expand regulation to virtual stock exchanges you’ll be supportive of that?

[20:54] LukeConnell Vandeverre: Hang on, you keep saying invest 50,000 lindens? you mean to participate in the WSE?

[20:55] Lowell Cremorne: Yes – say I chose to invest $50 000 Lindens in purchasing shares via the WSE

[20:56] LukeConnell Vandeverre: If Linden Lab feel that fictional stock exchanges are no longer providing a positive impact and a unique service to residents participating in their virtual economy then they would likely release a new policy and the WSE would close, exactly

[20:57] Lowell Cremorne: Although it’d be nice if instead of a ban they proposed some transparency and regulatory mechanisms to protect potential investors – that’d assist both you and investors

[20:57] LukeConnell Vandeverre: Then by spending L$50,000 lindens on the WSE you would be well aware that the WSE makes it very clear it’s not real and not to be used as a real investment opportunity to make money and that if you do it, then you take it upon yourself to take the risk that you may or may not be able to acquire more linden dollars than you started with and that you may or may not be able to sell the license to use them on the currency exchange
[20:59] LukeConnell Vandeverre: there are no guarantees at all that there will be a buyer for your license to use the fictional currency you control but not own

[21:00] Lowell Cremorne: Of course – I was more interested in the fictionality argument but I think we’ve thrashed that one to death 😉

(I then thanked Luke for his time and stated a story would be run this evening etc)

[21:12] LukeConnell Vandeverre: you’re welcome, btw further to your previous article the Office of Fair Trading/Consumer Affairs/ACCC would only investigate an allegation of false or misleading conduct and the World Stock Exchange makes it very clear to the user that it is not real and we do not promote it as a real investment opportunity.

[21:12] Lowell Cremorne: no probs – will add that to the story
[21:12] Lowell Cremorne: bye

[21:12] LukeConnell Vandeverre: OK bye for now

What are your thoughts – do you invest in such exchanges as purely a fictional game playing exercise?

Update: Nobody Fugazi at Your2ndPlace.com is running a follow-up story with some interesting allegations.
Update 2: Tateru Nino at Massively has also elaborated on the story.
Update 3: Nobody Fugazi has an interview with Arbitrage Wise from WSE competitor SL Capital Exchange on the Linden banking policy.
Update 4: This post pretty much refutes the whole fictionality argument – fascinating reading.
Update 5: SLNN are querying whether there’s legal action underway against WSE.
Update 6: This blog post by a Senior Economist at the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress poses some interesting questions about Linden Lab’s new policy on virtual banking.

Forrester to business: ignore virtual worlds at your peril

Well known technology and market research company Forrester have released a paper titled ‘Getting Real Work Done In Virtual Worlds’.

If you’ve got a spare $249.00 (US) you can read the full report, but otherwise you’ll have to be happy with the executive summary supplied. Although far from a new claim, the key one in the summary is that “within five years, the 3-D Internet will be as important for work as the Web is today”.

It’s a message most businesses either can’t or won’t digest. A lot of businesses are unable to see beyond immediate return on investment and combine that with the cutting edge nature of virtual worlds and you have the slow adoption occurring now. The corporations who are taking the plunge have rightly realised it’s a research and development exercise. Of course, the true virtual business innovators are the thousands of small businesses running every day in worlds like Second Life. The larger real-world entities could learn quite a bit from the home-based virtual world entrepreneurs.

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