I just learned all about Second Life, an online Video Game world that is supported by companies and academia! One of the coolest organizations I have found within Second Life is NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They have a labe setup that will allow you to fly up in an airplane and take weather readings as well as explore a coral reef under water. My sister actually got to visit the underwater space station off the coast of Florida a while back and she has worked with NOAA as a researcher.

Second Life is an online MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Experience) sort of like Everquest except there is less of a “questing and killing” focus. You can buy property and produce goods to sell and basically build a “second life” for yourself online. It was created by it’s users and since the “game world” honors property rights people can sell their stuff for real life money. It’s like a virtual world… Very cool, I think you can sign up for free so check out the link below.

Sony is doing something very similar to Second Life with the new PlayStation 3 “Home” project. They have created a virtual world for anyone with a PS3 who is online where people can create their own house with rooms and upload files and share them with friends. It is a very similar concept but a lot more limited in scope. Also, there is another project you might like with the PS3 where you can download a program that will allow the processing power from the gaming unit to go to curing cancer when you are not playing! It is being done in conjunction with Stanford University.

PS3 “Home” Virtual World
PS3 Folding@home Cancer Cure
About Second Life
Video on Second Life