The Click Heard Round the World

Map of Real World Places in Second Life

The UK company New Business Horizons has created what looks like the most comprehensive map of real world places re-created in Second Life I've ever seen.  They have both a web-based graphic that you can click on to get teleport links to the sites in-world, as well as an in-world map with the same information.

You can find a lot of well known places like virtual Dublin, Morocco, Cuba and Amsterdam. Plus, there are lots of surprising entries in here including Nigeria, Mauritius, the Dominican Republic, and Belarus! 

I did noticed one glaring omission: the Philippines! Otherwise, this is super impressive.

Tour of "Awesome Philippines" virtual island in Second Life (video)

Here is a quick video tour of the "Awesome Philippines" island in Second Life, a joint project of the Philippine Department of Tourism and MTV.  Sorry about the low volume on some of my audio, and all of my "ums".  All of the ambient sounds you hear come from Second Life.   You can also check out my pics I took of the island.

Or you can visit it yourself by going to this teleport link. All you need is a free Second Life account, a reasonably fast connection to the internet, and you are ready to go.  

And BTW, Happy Philippine Independence Day!

Smithsonian Launches Latino Museum in Second Life (video)

I got last minute word from SLballyhoo's Twitter Feed that the Smithsonian was launching today in Second Life a virtual Latino Museum!

I happened to pop over just as they were cutting the ribbon and playing the introductory video, and managed to capture some jerky footage of it. Looks like this has a lot of interesting potential for expanding the reach of the Smithsonian's holdings and engaging a broader public. And from a quick scan of the place, I see lots of multimedia and interactive content that will be a lot of fun to explore.

I wonder what their plans for engaging the wider Second Life community are?  Given the large numbers of Spanish residents of Second Life, from Spain, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, as well as Latino-Americans, there might be lots of opportunities for inter-cultural dialogues and exchanges at the Latino Museum.  At Global Kids we work with many Latino youth in New York City, so it will be nice to have a place we can send them to when they age out of the Teen Grid.

Head to this teleport link to visit the museum yourself. More info after the jump...

Real World Places in Second Life #27: The Estonia Embassy

I don't know why I never visited here, but a colleague alerted me to the Estonian government's Second Life island (click here to teleport.) Given the level of e-government innovation that happens in Estonia, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they have been in the virtual world since December 2007.  I've heard that Estonia has some of the highest levels of internet penetration of any Western country, so they are clearly ahead of the digital curve.

The sim is quite lovely, featuring a fanciful and elegant central structure that is all sharp angles and combined open and closed spaces.  In terms of functionality, the island is a showcase for Estonian culture (displaying artwork and videos from local artists), tourism (providing info about getting a visitors visa), and government (with links to various ministries and officials). There's even a giant magnifying glass focusing on Estonia on a floating globe, in case you are unclear on where it's at (which I was.)

Check out the blog of the SL Estonia Embassy for more info and upcoming events and exhibits.

OneClimate.net broadcasting live coverage of UN Climate Change Conference into Second Life

The environmental group OneClimate.net have been broadcasting in Second Life live coverage from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poznan, Poland.  I dropped in on a videochat with Jamie Henn from the activist group 350.org, Daniel Vokins from the UK Youth delegation in Poznan, and then Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

Here's a quick video of Jamie addressing a question from me on what youth in America can be doing to fight climate change.  I agree that we need to more than just "screw in some new lightbulbs" and "screw in some new politicians."  Nicely put.

Head to OneClimate island to check it out for yourself (click here to teleport.)

Beijing's Forbidden City as a virtual world (a mini-review)

I did a short fly-through of the new virtual world "Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time" created by IBM and the Palace Museum of China.   The goal of the project is "to provide the means for a world-wide audience to celebrate and explore aspects of Chinese culture and history" through doing a virtual tour of one of its most revered cultural sites, the Forbidden City. 

Here are some of my impressions after having visited it a few times this week.

9/11 Commemoration today in Second Life: Giving virtual voice to those who were lost

Today was a particularly emotional day for lots of people from around the world. However most of us don't have the luxury of sharing those emotions and thoughts in the middle of a workday with our friends and family.  So virtual spaces like Second Life serve a potentially important role in providing emotional outlets and support for people on days like September 11.

I checked in briefly on the memorial service going on in New York NYC sim (click here to teleport). What I experienced reminded me again of what a special place Second Life is.

---

UPDATE 9/11/10: For those looking for commemorative activities happening in Second Life today, September 11, 2010, please see this post for more info.

The Virtual Port Authority Bus Station: why why?

Seriously, did we absolutely NEED a virtual recreation of a crappy New York bus station in Second Life?  This one at least has no virtual homeless people or bridge and tunnel folks.  Sigh.

Head here, if you absolutely must see it in person/avatar.

Real World Places in Second Life: The Seattle Sim

A couple of years ago, one of the first recreations of a real life building I encountered in Second Life was the Seattle Space Needle, created by Mattias Faulkner.  At the time, I remarked that while the tower itself was impressive, it lacked the context of place, amidst a vibrant Pacific coastal city. 

In March, Harry Woodhen informed me that there was a new sim called "Seattle" that does indeed attempt to capture some more of the flavor of the city.  Follow this link to teleport directly there.  Here are some of my notes from my visit today.

Virtual Cuba versus Real World Cuba

Earlier this month, the metaverse development company Metaversatility launched a new showcase sim "EmVee Cuba" in Second Life (click here to teleport.)  It's a lovely, picturesque island, pushing the envelope on what is possible in SL, with each prim, texture and light placement designed to create an immersive sense of walking through a historic Cuba that never was. The builders are to be congratulated for some fine work.

That said, I can not help but compare this more idealized vision of Cuba with the reality of life over here.  My then girlfriend and I spent a month there in the summer of 2005, and the imagery in virtual Cuba bears only passing resemblance to what we encountered during our travels.