Word: virtual
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Reality is catching up with Second Life, the much hyped 3-D website that lets users create alter egos called avatars who can walk, chat, fly, have sex and buy and sell virtual stuff for real money. The ballyhoo surrounding this online community has led multinational brands from Reebok to Toyota to establish beachheads on Second Life to interact with consumers and be a part of the next wave in social networking. In April market-research firm Gartner predicted that by the end of 2011, 80% of active Internet users will have some sort of presence in a virtual world...
Every business has its growing pains. But as companies explore why their expensive virtual outposts remain largely empty, Second Life has other, potentially more serious, issues. Governments are scrutinizing the four-year-old site as a possible haven for tax-free commerce, child-porn distribution and other unsavory activity. The dilemma for Linden Lab, the company running Second Life, is how to rein in its creation without alienating hard-core users. Fans love the site as a way to meet people and experiment in self-expression. And companies are drawn to these techno-savvy trendsetters who spent 22 million hours...
Linden is also dealing with other disgruntled users. After it booted Marc Bragg over questionable virtual real-estate deals, the Pennsylvania resident sued the company last year for confiscating property worth thousands of dollars. While Linden won't discuss the merits of pending litigation, it's clear that Second Life's virtual assets have actual value. Linden lets users retain the rights to digital imagery they create on-site, and the result is a thriving economy that's as real as it gets. Attorney Stevan Lieberman made $20,000 last year helping Second Lifers file patents, trademarks and copyrights...
...Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, suffered the worst defeat in its 52-year history. Meanwhile, by taking 60 out of 121 seats up for grabs, the DPJ became the first opposition party to control the Upper House. The results seem to suggest that, after decades as a virtual single-party state, Japan has finally produced a viable opposition and a true two-party democracy, creating an environment where backroom politics would fade and voters would be able to choose between meaningful alternatives at the polls...
...agency plans to use a special risk-analysis software program that will allow investigators to study each functional element of the Minneapolis span. According to Rosenker, the program "can take away every element of the bridge in a computer model, until it falls down." The hope is that the virtual facsimile will help illuminate which component ultimately failed...