1. Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Virtually a reality: Kaneva brings 850,000 people online. “The nightclub throbs with techno pop, with dancers grooving to the beat. One performs a back flip, while “Foxy Bobo” points up and slips to the floor in a heap. “Dragonya” and “Jessikins,” two curvy females in matching tartan miniskirts, dance together in a slow grind. It’s Friday night at “Club Kaneva,” a virtual world where digital alter egos called avatars meet to dance, socialize, watch videos or even shop”.
2. Reuters – Paramount plants promo flag in virtual world Habbo. “Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment and Habbo, the teen-centric virtual world, have inked a deal to create and merchandize virtual goods based on at least three of the studio’s films”.
3. St Louis Post-Dispatch – Disney makes a virtual play for children. “Walt Disney Co. is no stranger to fantasy worlds, transporting audiences — whether to a cottage in the woods with a young princess in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” or to the Great Barrier Reef aboard the Finding Nemo Submarine ride at Disneyland. Now, Disney is spinning its tales in the newest mass medium — online virtual worlds, where children adopt cartoonish avatars and play games”.
4. Computing – Virtual skills for the real world. “Virtual world environments such as Second Life have immense potential, providing a shared and interactive space where groups of people can meet and work together in real time, regardless of their physical location. The graphical interface and three-dimensional platform of virtual environments allows people to interact easily and cost-effectively in a form that might be expensive or even risky in the real world. Almost anything is possible, provided you have the funds, imagination and the technical expertise”.
5. Showbiz Spy – Couple who fell in love in virtual world to wed in real life. “Trapped in a loveless marriage with a controlling husband, Kristen Birkin found herself seeking comfort in an online virtual world. When the 33-year-old realized she hadn’t been on a night out with friends for more than a decade she found another way to escape”.
6. CNN Money – Makena Technologies Helps Create New Virtual Skatepark in MTV Networks’ Virtual Worlds. “Makena Technologies, creator of the popular social virtual world There.com, and MTV Networks today announced the unveiling of a new Virtual Skatepark inside MTV Networks’ virtual worlds tied to MTV’s two popular on-air shows, “Rob and Big” and “Life of Ryan.” Makena provides the exclusive technology platform for MTV’s franchise-related virtual worlds, including the Emmy-winning Virtual Laguna Beach, Virtual Hills, Virtual Real World and Virtual VMAs, among others”.
7. Gaywired.com – Lesbian Gaming: ‘The L Word’ in Second Life. “Ever dreamed of living in The L Word? Well, now you can—virtually at least—with Showtime’s The L Word in Second Life. For those unfamiliar with the game, Second Life is a huge, interactive online world populated by hundreds of thousands of people who spend ludicrious amounts of time and money living, well, a virtual second life. Unlike many online game worlds, Second Life is for the most part very much like the real world—only more glamourous and fantasy-filled. Much like The L Word itself if you think about it”.
8. CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) – Second Gaza: Time’s Tim McGirk Creates a Virtual Reality. “The popular virtual reality video game Second Life is described as a “3D online digital world imagined and created by its residents.” Perhaps, then, the version of the Gaza Strip imagined and described by journalist Tim McGirk in the Feb. 4, 2008 issue of Time magazine should be called Second Gaza; because even though readers are left to believe McGirk’s short piece, entitled “World Spotlight: The Gaza Siege Breaks,” is about the real Gaza Strip, the article paints a picture that only superficially resembles reality”.
Speak Your Mind