Blueberries have long filled pies and freshened muffens, but now the juicy fruits are moving online and into a virtual world with the help of the LSU AgCenter.A $518,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund Web site to promote the blueberry industry, and users will be able to harvest virtual berries in the online community Second Life.The site, called All About Blueberries, is expected to launch in a year and will feature information on blueberry production as well as nutritional information and other information for consumers.The grant was awarded as part of a specialty crops research initiative. Specialty crops are less common than those “outside of typical commodity products” like corn, said Natalie Hummel, AgCenter entomologist and project director for the Web site.”The site is bridging the gap between the producers of a crop and the consumers,” Hummel said. Hummel said the site will use many different interactive tools to make it more appealing to a younger audience.”A lot of new growers, especially with blueberries, are young and want to be able to find the things they want to know all the time,” she said. “They don’t want to wait to call an office at 8 in the morning.”Some of the tools planned for the site include interactive maps with locations of blueberry producers and pictures to help identify problems with blueberry crops, Hummel said. The AgCenter is also planning to use Second Life, a virtual online community, to develop blueberry growing simulation activities. Krisanna Machtmes, associate professor and evaluator for organization development at the AgCenter, has used Second Life for her classes, and she will put together the Second Life part of All About Blueberries.Users will be able to grow and sell blueberries in the program, giving them a realistic, interactive experience, Machtmes said. One example of the learning process would be for users to determine what is wrong with a failing crop.”[Users] might find some of the crops aren’t doing well, and it would be up to them to be scientists and figure out what’s wrong.” Machtmes said. “Is there not enough sun? Are there problems with water consumption?” The AgCenter is working with partners from Mississippi State, Auburn and North Carolina State universities, Hummel said. Information will be contributed to the site by people working in many disciplines, like nutritionists, evaluation specialists and agronomists. The money from the grant will be divided among the project’s partners, but most of it will come to the AgCenter to fund a salary to hire a project coordinator, Hummel said.- – – -Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]