We caught up with David Holloway today. He runs the first, and only, Australian news site devoted to Second Life.
According to David as many as 18,000 Australians have registered on SL, with around 10% being active residents of the virtual world. While he did point out that these numbers are yet to be substantiated by SL’s creator, Linden Labs, this does represent a healthy interest from downunder.
We totally agree with David’s views that something like SL is likely to change the Internet as significantly as web browsers did in the early 90’s. The 360-degree virtual world experience makes online interaction just that little bit more personal and provides a range of educational and social opportunities.
Another Australian, Jana Gillespie, is the first Australian registered SL developer and she specialises in creating business presences for corporations within SL. She says that such virtual worlds as SL represent another option for businesses to interact with their customers – people recognise the many possibilities a platform can offer….a new way to market, to advertise and a new distribution channel for companies. A future 3D internet.
There are a number of Australian presences in Second Life. The Australian Film, Television and Radio School has had a presence for a while, the ABC is building an island at the moment and Telstra has apparently bought a few islands.
UPDATE: The Sydney Morning Herald has an article covering activities by Australians in SL.
