1. Wired (USA) – Georgia Town Might Create Its Own Virtual World. “In a bid to promote community networking and participation while stimulating economic development, the town of Decatur, Georgia, is considering establishing a virtual world. The proposed “Virtual Decatur” is still firmly rooted in the planning stages, with potential features and tools being discussed, to determine the viability of such a project.”

2. The Telegraph (UK) – Second Life founder finds virtual world a ‘very interesting alternative to reality’. “Philip Rosedale doesn’t look like his avatar but that, apparently is the point. The founder and chairman of Linden Labs, the US group which runs the Second Life virtual internet universe, is a blond, 40-year-old Californian with boyish good looks, while his internet alias is “a cool cowboy with a handlebar moustache”.

3. Silicon Alley Insider (USA) – Sony Muzzles PS3 Sex Fiends. “Sony has updated its PS3-based virtual world “Home.” In the current release, voice chat has been removed from the service. No reason is given for shutting down the chat lines, but we imagine it has something to do with reports of female avatars getting harrassed in Sony’s virtual world. (Which is what we thought would happen.) MTV gaming reporter Tracey John had her own run-in with PS3 sexual harassment.”

4. Net Imperative (UK) – Guest Comment: I’ve seen the future – and it’s augmented. “As social networks and virtual worlds grow in popularity, the lines between our ‘digital’ and ‘real’ lives are becoming increasingly blurred. Steve Richards, Managing Director at Yomego, explores how this ‘augmented reality’ will affect our lives as technology evolves. In 2009, it will be ten years since that groundbreaking slice of futuristic virtual reality science fiction, “The Matrix”, was launched on an expectant world. A decade on, and science fact is rapidly catching up through a growing phenomenon called augmented reality.”

5. Globe and Mail (Canada) – Family-friendly games to quiet the naysayers. “The two poles of opinion regarding video games remain very far apart as 2008 comes to a close. The consensus view at a recent book-club meeting in rural British Columbia, according to an inside source, was that young people and their violent games are the root cause of many of society’s problems. At the opposite end of the scale, game fans speak of them as new and exciting educational tools and the “convergence of everything” in arts and entertainment, as the creator of BioShock, Ken Levine, put it recently. The good news is this: The games released this year make it easier to imagine those two extremes getting together. Connecting people has emerged as the driving force behind many new games and interactive experiences, and this was the best year on record for producing a rundown of group-play and family-friendly games.”

6. Wired (USA) – Report: Gore Verbinski To Direct Second Life Movie. “Variety reports that the director of Pirates of the Caribbean will partner with Universal Pictures to make a film about Second Life, the popular virtual world. It’s to be a film about relationships, specifically based on a 2007 Wall Street Journal article concerning a man’s alternate Second Life ego. In his “first life,” the article’s subject is a married, middle-aged, diabetic chain-smoker. But in Second Life, he’s a successful entrepreneur — a muscle-bound hunk with a chain of successful (in-game) clubs and retail stores, who’s “married” to another player.”

7. The Straits Times (Singapore) – Second life couple tie the knot. “Doe-eyed Rinaz Bijoux met hunky Cartridge Partridge four years ago, they fell in love, and got hitched.
On Saturday, Ms Marina Noordin, 31, and Mr Roberto D’Andrea, 45, held a traditional Malay wedding dinner for family and friends at a void deck in Taman Jurong. They had met four years ago. These are the same couple. Their first marriage was made in Second Life, the popular virtual world. ‘Rinaz’ is Ms Marina’s avatar, or virtual character, while ‘Cartridge’ is Mr D’Andrea.”

8. Dusan Writer’s Metaverse (Canada) – ThinkBalm, the Immersive Internet and Collaborative Culture. “A while back I was invited to something called the “ThinkBalm Innovation Community” and I suppose it was the word innovation: I’ll even open spam if it uses the word, and if I ever get an e-mail from some Nigerian with $5 billion in a bank somewhere who needs my INNOVATIVE help in getting that money out, I’d probably respond.
Turns out that ThinkBalm wasn’t spam, of course, but a community of like-minded individuals with a passion for the immersive Web, a bank full of ideas, and the moxy to actually make stuff happen.”

9. GameZone (USA) – KingsIsle Entertainment Reveals Wizard101 World: Dragonspyre. “Online entertainment company KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. today officially announced Dragonspyre, the first new 3D world to be added to the popular virtual world Wizard101 (www.wizard101.com) since the game launched this fall. Dragonspyre is a large, high level world expected to launch in January 2009.”

10. Allazhazam (USA) – Dangers of Sanrio Town. “Due to the relatively anonymous nature of the internet, the safety of children is paramount in the eyes of most parents, law enforcement officials and other concerned people and organizations. Whether it’s through online games, social networking sites, blogs, forums or chat rooms, youngsters can interact with strangers at a rapid pace. And in the world of Hello Kitty Online, all of these communication tools have been combined to make a player’s life accessible at the click of a button if they so choose.”