Korea International Boat Show

A slightly odd one this... it relates to a sim I can see, but not get into. But my little story starts with an email from my Korean friends at Acid Crebiz (do a search in this blog if that name means nothing to you). It seems they've been busy, as they sent me a press announcement regarding the launch of the Korea International Boat Show, 2008 and the Korea Match Cup in Second Life.

I have to admit, it has taken me some effort to unpick the meaning, as the announcement had the look of a document that has been parsed by Babelfish. But this much I can tell you:

1. The Korea International Boat Show will be held in the atomic world in mid-June at Jeonggok Marina in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province. It will be one of the largest marine festivals of its kind in Asia and will provide a focus for the rapidly emerging consumer base in Korea, as well as nearby China and Japan.
   
2. In April Gyeonggi Province opened a sim in Second Life - Gyeonggido - to promote the boat show and to help develop the local marine leisure industry.
3. Second Life residents can visit facilities such as a floating dock, as well as indoor and outdoor exhibition halls, an auditorium and an event zone featuring various boats and yachts that are at their disposal. They can then try their hand at yacht racing, remote controlled speedboat racing and scuba diving.
   
4. After the show and Cup are over, the island will become a themed resort allowing residents to experience marine leisure sports, such as yachting, scuba diving and so on - and promote the region.
   

Furthermore, there is an inaugural event in Second Life - and it starts tomorrow, 9th May. That is the reason for the post. The details are:

Event--: Virtual Regatta
Date---: Friday, May 9 at 11PM (SLT) to Thursday, May 15th at 1 AM (SLT).
Venue-: Gyeonggido sim
First place winner will receive L$10000; second and third place will receive L$5000 and L$3000 respectively, while 4th to 10th places will each receive L$1000.

A small note of caution: Despite the statement that the sims have been open to the public since April, I was unable to gain access today (May 8th). So I hope you have better luck. If for some reason you cannot get in, then you may have to make do with a look at the YouTube promo instead.

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UPDATE May 9th: According to the response I've had from Acid Crebiz, the sim should now be accessible. I'm not in a position to test it myself - but I would suggest you give it a go.

Further Update on May 9th: Hmmm... I still can't get in to the pair of sims.

Final(?) Update - May 10th: The sims are now open - go here or here for my photoset.