22nd
The first part of this article covered information most of us already had. But the oil rigs? All news to me:
“other companies are carving out parts of Second Life as their own. They are creating employee-only islands and office buildings, then encouraging their staff to meet there. Compared with plane tickets and hotel bills, it’s not that expensive: A 16-acre private island in Second Life costs $1,000 plus a $295 monthly maintenance fee.
“Forrester Research, a respected company that focuses on the technology industry, recently highlighted the potential for its clients in a report titled “Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds.”
“Swiss construction giant Implenia, for instance, worked with IBM Corp. to test ways to turn off lights in real buildings by flipping virtual switches in Second Life. The University of Maryland simulated a highway emergency and had participants respond in a different virtual world, designed by Forterra Systems Inc. And a company called Qwaq created a zone of oil rigs, refineries and offices to enable energy professionals to walk through their properties and discuss repairs while viewing actual equipment.
“Virtual worlds are relatively inexpensive, don’t require a great deal of start-up technology infrastructure and provide a naturalistic, immersive approach to simulating space, people and objects,” wrote Forrester analysts Erica Driver and Paul Jackson.
“IBM, which has nearly 387,000 employees in 170 countries, began building in Second Life in late 2006. Now, about 5,000 workers visit Second Life and other virtual worlds to conduct meetings, train employees and hold orientation sessions.”