A recent Internet phenomenon has taken universities, businesses and even the Federal Reserve by storm.
Second Life, a virtual world created by Linden Research, Inc., allows people to create avatars – virtual identities – to interact with that world and its residents.
The University is interested in virtual worlds, said Stephen Beck, director of the Center for Computation and Technology Lab for Creative Arts & Technology and the head of the CCT’s Cultural Computing focus area.
“The first objective was to get it up and running,” Beck said. “Now we’re trying to expand it for research, education and outreach.”
The University’s Second Life virtual campus is maintained by the Cultural Computing Group.
Upon creating an account in Second Life, residents can direct their avatars to the campus. While the real University certainly isn’t surrounded by an ocean, locations in Second Life are established on islands.
The buildings were designed by Paulo Perkins, architecture senior, and David Hebert, University alumnus. Both students were architecture undergraduates when they developed and built the virtual campus.
“Stephen Beck approached us and asked if we wanted to design it,” Perkins said. “It took 80 days to build everything.”
Perkins said he and Hebert used their avatars to design and build inside the Second Life program.
“During the development, we actually had meetings through the program,” Perkins said.
The campus mainly consists of the Quad, Greek Amphitheater and Memorial Tower areas. However, there is an absence of activity on the campus.
“Not a lot is going on right now,” Beck said. “Content is one of the things we don’t have.”
Beck said that should change by the beginning of the fall semester.
“In a couple of weeks we will broadcast ‘Hot Summer Nights and Cool Jazz’ from the Amphitheater on the virtual campus,” Beck said.
“Hot Summer Nights and Cool Jazz” is a week-long series of concerts sponsored by the School of Music.
Universities such as Harvard, Stanford and New York University have a highly developed virtual presence and are capable of conducting lectures.
“We’ve talked to faculty, and we want to have classes in Dodson Auditorium,” Beck said.
Perkins said it can be a good substitute for classes.
“It’s the best way to be there without being there,” Perkins said.
Beck said CCT has plans to create an area in Atkinson Hall where students can explore the Second Life world.
But Second Life is not merely a place for social or academic interaction. The world has a currency, called Linden dollars, or L$, which is monitored by the U.S. Federal Reserve as a foreign currency. Linden dollars have a stable exchange rate of L$266 to one U.S. dollar. Users can make purchases in Second Life with L$, such as real estate or clothes and jewelry to dress their avatars.
Users can buy a membership, but it is not necessary unless they plan to own land. Land is available through Second Life, but it can be expensive. One particular developed property with available rental space starts at $12,500 on eBay.com.
“Ultimately, it’s an economy,” Beck said. “A real commercial martketplace.”
—-Contact Ashley Norsworthy at [email protected]