Another Airship or 2

Just a quick post: Following a link from Natacha Chernov's blog, I TP'd over to the island of Lovelace to see yet more Second Life dirigibles. As Natacha is big on steampunk, you can safely assume that the island is named after Ada, rather than Linda. The island is still showing signs of extensive construction, but it is a nice place to go... if you ignore the giant wicker man who may be waiting for you to come round for a barbecue.

The main feature is the huge zeppelin with strange wavy tentacles, that looms over the island. But there is a smaller, cuter dirigible for those with a fear of octopii and other cephalopods. If all of this has spooked you out, there is a church where you can go for a bit of tranquil chill.

Download Festival coming to Second Life

The following is a lift from Easier Lifestyle - though at least I researched the links:

Download Dog, the mascot of Download Festival, Britain’s largest alternative music festival, has for the very first time been let loose in the internet-based, virtual world Second Life. The Second Life Download Dog is unique in its design, specifically animated as an interactive avatar.

The communities built within Second Life and the Download Festival are an essential factor in both of their success. Second Life now boast an online community of over 6 Million, and each year has seen the Download festival increase its audience now bringing together 80,000 dedicated fans to Donington Park each June. This massive Download audience has been key to forming their online community that meets each year to provide feedback and shape the future of the festival. Using only independent artisans and existing locations within Second Life, the competition works like a treasure hunt, the first within the metaverse*.

Users will have to follow a trail left by the Download Dog to be entered into a prize-draw to win an Epiphone Les Paul guitar, signed [by] artists playing the festival this year. Organisers have been working extensively with the Second Life community to bring this competition together and the Download Dog’s avatar has been created by Nomasha Syaka, who is regarded as the most talented sculptor and builder in Second Life.

Festival director, Stuart Galbraith said: “Having the Download Dog integrated into Second Life is a fantastic opportunity for both communities to interact and bring the Download Festival to a world wide audience. Our online community has made Download Festival the essential event that it is today and bringing this to a wider audience is a concept that is extremely exciting.” Rohan Freeman of The Sine Wave Company, who are involved in the Dog’s venture into Second Life said of the competition “Second Life has tens of thousands rock and alternative fans doing weird and wonderful things. When Live Nation wanted to run a competition for all their people, it was easy to bring everything together and draw on the creativity of lots of people all at once. Second Life is a community, and the people building it care about that community. Feedback from citizens I am dealing with is excellent. Because we are getting them involved.”

* I'm not sure Microsoft/Millions of Us would agree with this assertion.

UPDATE: Follow this link for competition instructions.

The Frogman Show - Movie

The Frogman Show, a popular Japanese TV cartoon and now, movie, has been brought to Second Life by leading Japanese builders, Melting Dots at Kaeruotoko Island. If you want to get a flavour of the show, there's a number of clips on YouTube - as you might hope/expect, it is totally crazy. I've been struggling to find details (in English) about the show, but I am reliably informed that the "frogman" in question is the pseudonym of the sole animator, and that the 30-minute TV show is all produced using Flash.

Kaeruotoko Shokai is the company behind the runaway success of the show and a number of other Flash-based projects; "a gung ho visual contents brand...A charismatic force in web animation which could only be chaired by the FROGMAN himself."

The island itself is largely submerged, and only a small area of land is actually in use. The main plot offers a number of weblinks and a movie theatre, where trailers can be viewed. There are also several freebies, ranging from caps and T-shirts, to a couple of free avatars, which is good.

The whole place is garish and cartoony - just like the show - and I have to confess that I rather like it.

Dogfights and Airships

Recently a number of folk have pointed out the number of airships filling the skies of Second Life - the one at Microsoft Island being the most recent. Therefore I was delighted to find not one but, well, loads of airships when I TP'd into Dogfight Island.

I was at a loss to get the inside information on the island - actually 2 sims - when a notecard popped up, and saved me all that work of tracking people down and quizzing them at length.

So here goes...
"The Second Skies sims are themed around an alternate mid-20th century. It is a world with a steampunk past and a retro-futurist future. It is the world that is home to films like The Rocketeer or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and most notably games like Crimson Skies. The skies are filled with zeppelins and air pirates... and adventure. Role-play is not required, however, things built or rezzed in the sim must not conflict with the theme. "

It then goes on to give some cracking examples of what's "in" and what's "out", before going on to explain:
"We're not terribly strict about this, but we're also quick to respond to flagrant violations. For example, if you rez a Cessna, it's technically not theme but it'll probably slide by without complaint, as long as it's for the moment and not a permanent part of a build. OTOH, we routinely return anything C-Tech on sight. People wandering around in NASA uniforms will likely be unmolested, but Clone or Stormtroopers get bounced out of the sim immediately."








The card concludes by making the point that this is not a general combat sim - it is intended only for use in air-to-air combat. I fancied mucking about with the pictures to give them a steampunk look, but during my researches I found this blog, which has such great pictures that my attempts would have looked rubbish by comparison.

Sprouting Tufts

Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, have an island in Second Life. I picked up a notecard, which I will now quote from liberally:

• "This Second Life island is an experimental studio environment for the course 'Physical Planning & Design.' The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the fundamental ideas and tools in the work of planning and designing the built environment. As a capstone project for the course, we are developing a physical plan and design for vacant land surrounding the Forest Hills MBTA Train Station. On this island, you will find a 1/2 scale model of the Forest Hills site. We will use the Second Life environment to both conceive our plan and then to present our ideas. We will make a final presentation of our ideas on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 9AM ET. The public is welcome to join us here in Second Life for the presentation."

So I'm a few weeks late then. Ho hum.

The build is not dramatic (though it is interesting to see half-scale, I'm not used to that in SL) - but then that is not its purpose. Rather, it shows yet another means of innovating using 3D environments. I wonder whether they found that SL helped?

I don't have the SLURL to hand, but use the "Search" facility on "Map" and look for "UEPP Tufts".

Aarhof Shopping Mall - where RL and SL meet

I've been suffering with withdrawal symptoms - and I keep getting drawn back to Dutch sites, no matter what I do. Here's another that I actually stumbled on a few weeks ago - but couldn't resist the temptation to blog it this time round. It's a shopping mall - nothing special about that, and that's why I didn't bother blogging it first time. However, I thought I'd take another look - mainly because I can't access the Sky News sim, and I was at something of a loose end.

This is Aarhof Shopping Mall - and what makes it a little more interesting that yer average mall is that it is the Second Life equivalent of the Real Life Aarhof Shopping Mall. I will let you digest the content of the notice below:

So - aside from being an extrusion into the Virtual World of a real, bricks'n'mortar building - you can also buy stuff in Second Life that will be delivered to you in Real Life. OK... this, too, is not new - but it's certainly not commonplace in SL. Also, the mechanism is not exactly cutting edge, as it is basically a matter of linking you to the relevant website. I was also surprised at how few outlets actually offered website links. Also, the mall is not targeted particularly at SLers, in that there are no SL-only shops in here (for skins, SL clothing and the like). On the plus side, there's plenty of freebies for all those so inclined - clothing, pets, lamps and other stuff.


As you can see, the build looks quite realistic - a lot of effort has been expended making the shops look like their counterparts in RL, with inordinate quantities of transparent photo textures. I quite like it - even though I am struggling to see how the site will be used. OK, there are some links to websites, but large swathes of the mall seem to be there simply to look like RL. It seems like a waste to me - but maybe they have a cunning plan. If you know, then do tell.

Microsoft / MOU Egg Hunt

OK... I give up. I found the first egg, solved the riddle and thought: "Oooh! I quite like this." But after hunting for the second egg for a what seemed like an age, without success, I've decided to get on with the rest of my life - real and virtual. I know plenty of people have found it, and indeed have collected all the eggs. But for me? I simply can't be bothered. Which is a shame, because the actual logic problems would appear to be quite good fun.

I was talking with the first winner, Little Penguin, who informed me that only 3 of the eggs were really hard to find - the second being on of them. Yeah... well, I'd agree with the latter statement! More interestingly, only the first 3 eggs are on the Microsoft sim. The others are dotted around various sims, and not all of them are Millions of Us builds. Which set me thinking...

If this build was for Microsoft, how come you are led a merry dance around the grid - on a hunt that has virtually nothing to do with the client? If the build was actually ready months ago (as I believe may be the case), how come the island wasn't opened at Easter - when an Egg Hunt would make more sense? I'm just a bit confused about the marketing messages here; who is actually the client?

Then, picking up on a tweet from Prokofy Neva, how come the front entrance to the main structure on the Microsoft island is now so difficult to access, cluttered as it is by all manner of crapahoolie?

BMW gets Interactive

After sorting out some teething problems, BMW have finally got their "energy efficiency" flying machine in full working order - and it's been worth the wait. Unfortunately, you can't just go and grab a copy for yourself. You have to arrange a test flight by contacting the tireless Munich Express (his girlfriend must be getting seriously p*ssed off with him by now!), who will sort you out.

Here's a couple of piccies of the flying machine - I call it that, because I can't think of a better expression, although the term rather conjures up images of the Wright Brothers, rather than a sleek Sc-Fi beast like this. If you look closely, you will see letter "H" on the 2 engine pods, while the pilot's pod is, one hopes, a place where s/he can breathe (so that'll be Oxygen then). Putting this all together, we end up with H2O... so we have a water-powered(?) vehicle, using Hydrogen as the actaul fuel. Nice model, huh?


Yeah... but how does it feel to fly? I'm usually really crap when it comes to operating machinery. This rule applies in RL as well as SL - but SL is particularly challenging. So it was with some trepidation that I took the helm. I found the H2O to be responsive without being to "jinky", and when I put the pedal to the metal, it went like a bat out of Hell. So that's the BMW brand preserved then. :-)

It also sped across the linked sims without a hiccup. I've had awful problems in the past with vehicles attempting to cross sim boundaries - but this little beauty took no notice of such inconveniences. And that meant I was able to get much more out of the flight. It was actually quite thrilling (I lead a quiet life), though next time I will use Mouselook mode - which should be awesome.

Two comparisons flashed through my mind as I was razzing about in this beastie. The first was the German rocket plane the ME-163, in that the H2O is small and incredibly fast; the second was the Schneider Trophy, as my flight involved flying low across the sea and low-lying islands in a single-seat plane with 2 dangly pod things.

Microsoft? Whatever....

I made a pre-launch visit to Microsoft island tonight - along with its sibling, Microsoft Winners. Why pre-launch? Well, for one thing, I tend to find launch events a bit too busy and laggy - but also, because Microsoft have cunningly contrived to hold their launch at 6:00PM SLT - which in English money is 2:00 AM GMT on Friday morning, or for my more Continental chums, 3:00AM CET. Some of us have got work in the morning!

So what am I to infer from this? Microsoft are pitching at the Far East market perhaps? Or trying to appeal to American developers who don't have daytime access to Second Life? One thing seems certain - we poor Europeans (the ones who are currently flooding into Second Life, by the way) can wait until we get home on Friday evening to see what all the fuss has been about. Thanks MOU and Microsoft - cute strategy.

So enough with the complaining, and the yabbering. What's the build like? It is, after all, from those Masters of the Metaverse at Millions of Us. Well, you may already have seen the "blimp" video on YouTube, which I personally found unhelpful. The blimp looks like it is about to feature in some kind of launch event game - but there is scant information about this at the moment. I have captured an island map for your delectation, but I was somewhat underwhelmed. Aside from an interminable series of stairs to reach something that has something to do with the blimp, the island seems to have 2 main features - a sandbox and a huge pavillion. Inside the pavillion is a blimp-like object (I shall call it a 'BLO') that serves as a theatre or auditorium. Dotted around the edges of the pavillion, at various heights, are smaller chat areas (quite nicely branded with the Microsoft 4-square logo). Outside, you will find a dancing area - though it looks oddly placed if it is intended as a permanent fixture. It looks more like something that will be taken down in a week or 2 (or maybe less). There is a clone of the dance are on the "winners" island - which I assume will be the preserve of the winners of whatever competition has been dreamt up.




Ther island is aimed at Visual Studio developers - and in my view, they would be far better served going to the Defy All Challenges website. This has some great videos, mixing RL and SL. Maybe this island will rock once it has opened officially - but for me, despite some nice build features, it feels a bit flat. What is more, it has sat there, seemingly twiddling its virtual thumbs for months. I understand that no real changes have been made to it in 4 or 5 months - and that is certainly my perception. I have checked this island on the Satellite Map, off and on, since late last year - and have noticed no real changes for some time.

So anyway - there you have it. Pop along and make your own mind up - but I had high expectations, that this site has not lived up to...

Up The Amazon - Part I

Amazon yesterday soft-launched their 2-sim Amazon Developer island, targeted at developers using Amazon Web Services. While acknowledging that it is not complete, they are keen to start getting feedback from interested SLers so they are better able to launch a fully rounded offering in a few weeks time.

The build has been done by my very good friends at Virtuool, and cool wolf-man Joshua Culdesac's paw-prints are certainly all over it. If you've not seen their work before, can I commend you to this article and this one. Unusually for me, today's article is only "Part I". Why? Well, I simply didn't have enough time to fully explore the island last night, yet still picked up more information than I can comfortably blog in one sitting.

Given the company name, the island is naturally themed on the Amazon , though it also has a more general South American vibe going on: pumas roar at you from the bushes; alligators snap at you as you take a cruise in a fishing boat that would not look out of place on Lake Titicaca.

There is so much going on here it is going to take me some time to untangle. For starters, on arrival there is a 3D model of the island over which lies a glass plate, strong enough to bear your weight. As you click on information panels, a little guide-bot scoots across the plate and illuminates the destination on the island that matches your selection. Quite simply - brilliant!

I then took a cruise, whose gently meandering route took me past many of the buildings, before I jumped ship for a closer look. One area that I particularly enjoyed is the hovering meeting rooms. These could almost double as "speak your weight" machines, since they track (and display) the load in the room, and adjust the speed of the rotors accordingly, so as to keep you hovering in the same place. Niiiice....



I scouted out the Web Services Museum, but this is still awaiting its display cabinets. However, it did remind me that Joshua has developed a cool tool for building such structures. I had seen a demo of the building tool a couple of months ago, so it's good to see it put to use here.




This build is full of interesting, diverting details - almost to the point of overwhelming you on a quick visit.

What I love about Virtuool builds is:

• the sense of humour
• the left-field imagination
• the clever use of scripts to provide engaging animations and effects
• ... and lots of other stuff too...

Seeing the reaction on 3pointD, I am absolutely delighted that one of the nicest wolfmen I know (while not forgetting Piper - sorry!!) - and one of the best builders around - is starting to get the recognition he deserves. This has raced to the top of my SL Innovations table. But, with all the praise and plaudits he's been getting, I wonder if he will still talk to me now?

PS: Oh... the green rocky thing that comes up to provide a path across the river?... is it supposed to keep going up? :-)

In a Heartbeat

Today I ventured out among the far-flung islands of the Western Oceans of Second Life, and found landfall at Heartbeat Digital island (to be honest - this isn't very far out!). The company "creates custom Websites and high-value Web software for Fortune 500 companies and other industry-leading organizations" and is based in Manhattan. They specialise in web software for Life Sciences and Financial Services companies.

Bill Drummy, CEO, gave a speech recently entitled “YouTube, MySpace and Us” which included the following statement: "It’s important to realize that virtual worlds like Second Life represent an entirely new paradigm that will enormously affect how people interact online in the future. At the same time, these sites are ‘bleeding edge’ for most people today. Only 15% of Second Lifers return regularly.” He concluded with: "...nobody knows anything – yet. This is all extremely new; business models are gestating. That spells opportunity, but it also requires experimentation." I think I'd agree with that!

My chum VeeJay, over at Mindblizzard, was not entirely complementary about the build when he stumbled upon it a few weeks ago. However, I am a much more generous chap (evidently) as I reckon that the build is still incomplete. At ground level it comprises only a small, Victorian-era "orangery" with a fairly full description of the company and somewhat erratic teleport. The rest of the island is lush grass and the odd tree. Above ground is a huge airship, stretching the length of the island - and above that is a solid expanse that blocks a satellite view of the whole place.


The airship is reached using the quirky teleport. It houses a couple of meeting areas and a dance floor, along with a couple of gondolas for more (virtual) face-to-face meetings. However, the whole thing feels decidedly unfinished. I don't know if they are taking a breather, but it is not in its final configuration - or so I would hope. I am encouraged in this thought by the fact that I can find no press releases announcing its presence. Oh... some quite nice particle effects by the way.

Incidentally, VeeJay commented on the island claim date as July, 2004. However, I am not sure this isn't a bug (or feature?) of Second Life, as I have encountered a number of "new" islands with "old" claim dates. Perhaps more instructive is that the owner, Praetor Hax, was "born" on 14th Feb, 2007 (although he has an older alt dating back to 2005). I am therefore happy to reserve judgement until more has been done - assuming more is actually done! If you know anyone from Heartbeat Digital, please ask them to comment, correcting me on any errors or misunderstandings.

Hamburg Chamber of Commerce

You may have read recently that in April more Germans accessed Second Life than Americans. I have already noted on many occasions the number of Dutch builds in progress - and I have been particularly intrigued by the arrival of Dutch towns, such as Zoetermeer of Koolhoven. Well, not to be outdone by the Dutch, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce has decided that German towns also need representation in Second Life and have acquired an island. It is being constructed by German build company Metaboys - a new-looking 4-man team from Hamburg.

To quote liberally from the notecard I picked up:

• Hamburg Chamber of Commerce is one of Europe's oldest chambers of commerce, with a wealth of experience in international relations, commercial know-how, and democratic culture. And one of the youngest and most dynamic in terms of commitment for its members. It is the voice for the Hamburg business community and a partner, facilitator and representative for some 139,000 companies, that is a total workforce of about 849,000 people... [It] is the first chamber worldwide in Second Life.

Although the build remains at an early stage it is apparent that the island is divided into 2 principal areas - the Chamber of Commerce and the "Hamburg @ Work" initiative., which seemingly aims to bring together media, IT and telecommunications companies - although to what end remains something of a mystery to me.

Anyway... here's some piccies of progress to date:

Incidentally, this seems to be another of those sites that has been officially launched, even though it is a long way from completion. Why do people do that?

Al turns down Visa

Nic at the excellent KZero recently reported on Visa Europe's first foray into Second Life. I was surprised he'd got in, as it looks highly incomplete on the Satellite Map view. But since he got in, I thought I'd give a try too - and sure enough it is open to the rambling fraternity.

I thought Nic was being a tad harsh in his appraisal, but having given the island the once-over I am inclined to agree with him. The build is somewhat rudimentary, offering no real information and comprising an admittedly attractive walkway and a cluster of Visa-brand boxes - and that's about it.

Visitors are asked for their views - but it feels forced, insincere and badly misjudged. The idea, of course, is to encourage notions of crowdsourcing, social networking and community - just what we SLers thrive on. However, to my eyes at least, this looks lazy and poorly thought out.


The reason that occurs to me is that Visa Europe has not really done its homework - and has failed to use one of the many excellent build and marketing companies that have a solid understanding of Second Life dynamics, opting instead for what looks like a couple of relatively inexperienced(?) contract builders. As a result they stand to compromise the brand through a largely inept introduction into SL - and the fault for this lies largely at their own door.

I found the following at mad.co.uk:

Sandra Alzetta, senior VP of innovation at Visa, said: “Visa has approached Second Life in the interactive manner of the world itself. What we have created is very much a work in progress which we are hoping to see grow organically through user participation, we are looking for visitors to our island and our member banks to input into our presence in their world.

“The island was chosen for its proximity to the mainland, whilst also allowing for space to develop and grow. The Second Life world is one that is at the forefront of technology and as such is complementary to the extensive work that Visa undertakes in researching and developing new technologies.”

Oddly, it's not really close to the mainland - and even if it was, so what? I'm sorry but this sounds like someone with no inworld experience, making questionable decisions based on an absence of actual knowledge - and (as I said earlier) not using companies who can supply this knowledge. I wonder what the launch party will be like?

Music and Politics

The island of misneach is owned by SL group Four Winds Entertainment, who describe their mission as "to provide quality entertainment to SL residents." The island is under construction, but already has areas set aside for 2 bands:

• First up are The Invaders, a Milwaukee-based Ska band; I would never have associated Ska with Wisconsin.

• Then there is On A Sun, also from Milwaukee, who specialise in a blend of electronica and rock.

Beyond that, the island has a multi-floored dance block, a couple of outdoor screens and a beach area for more relaxing pastimes. Presumably as a bid to cover some of the expense of running an island, there is a small number of shops for rent. You are also invited to leave a tip in order to cheer up Sad Bob.

The build, which has a look of the able and enthusiastic amateur about it, clearly has a number of weeks before it is completed.

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Progressive Island is home to a number of... well... progressive organisations. It is the place to sign up for the YearlyKos Second Life convention in August (blogged before). It also hosts IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare); the Wes Clark 2008 election group; NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network); Trellon - "a political consulting firm specializing in the Internet and New Media" - and a number of other, smaller micro-sites.

Construction is still in progress, mainly under Nobody Fugazi, with one building (at least) still to be be completed. The island is group owned by Team Trellon.

Al locks on to Loxon

The number of closed sims is getting to be a right pain in the proverbial at the moment. I reckon I am able to wander at will through maybe only 10% of those I try and visit. But one that I have been able to access, even though it is relatively new and still under construction, is Loxon. This sim belongs to Loxon Design & Media, based in Munich. The sim is part of a small German enclave that includes BMW, Softlab and Phase 4, all of whom I have featured in this blog in previous postings.

Loxon have broken their sim into a number of islands, seemingly with the intention of bringing their clients into Second Life. Only one of these is operational at the moment: Zorro Film, also based in Munich. Zorro seem to be a movie production and/or distribution company. Their presence in Second Life comprises primarily a movie theatre, where promos for 4 of their films (including the wonderfully named "Full Metal Village" by Sung-Hyung Cho ) can be viewed. You can grab freebies in the form of a variety of T-shirts. I broke with my normal reserve about picking up crap - and grabbed a "Full Metal Village" T-shirt. Outside the theatre there is a talking cow(!) - part of the "Full Metal Village" promotion. The Zorro site opened officially on 26th April - though this passed me by entirely.

High above the island there is a meeting room, accessed by rezzing the Zorro-Liftboy, who will scoop you up and fly you up to the high-altitude platform.

Elsewhere, the sim is far from complete. There is a sandbox, and a main island that is still in the early stages of construction. The build all appears to be the work of Bruce Mantis, whose profile identifies him as the builder of the neighbouring Softlab island too.

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Incidentally, I also visited the island of Japan Zipang Japone. This site has barely started construction, and I have no idea what it is going to be. I mention it only because it is adorned with a number of unfeasibly armed Transformers, like these:

More on Sun's MPK20 Project

Here is a link if you want to view a demo of the new Sun MPK20 virtual 3D environment for commerce. It shows off the principal features rather nicely. Nicole Yankelovich, who seems to be providing the demo, has said Sun intend to roll this out internally within 6 months. Subsequently, presumably once the bugs and glitches have been nailed. it will be made available outside the company.

Also - PC Advisor magazine has listed their top 8 Second Life businesses. Can you guess? Oh.. go on...

No? OK - they've gone with:
IBM
Pontiac
Sun
Dell
Reuters
Cisco
H&R Block
Geek Squad

Just thought you might like to know.

A Blogger Blogged....

I see Team Mascot has blogged about my own bit of building in Second Life. I think he's been a tad over-generous in his assessment, but thanks anyway!

It has to be said that New Alville lacks thematic coherence, does not employ a 24x7 greeter and does not provide freebie T-shirts or other inventory-filling crapola. Also, it makes no effort to advertise its presence. In fact, it seems there is a distinct reluctance to make itself known.

On the plus side, it is actually open to ramblers wishing to pop by for a chat... or have a hot tub session in one of the 2 giant coffee cups.

:-)

Spazitalia

Naming your company can be a tricky business these days. Once upon a time, unless you were a multi-national, you didn't have to worry too much about language issues. But with the arrival of the internet, and more latterly, 3D environments like Second Life, your choice of company name becomes more important, as you now need to consider whether it is "safe" in other languages. And so it with Spazitalia, an Italian company whose mission is to "promote Italian products abroad and foreign products in Italy. In this case we create an Italian site, independent from the original, which takes into account the specific needs of the Italian market in terms of graphics, the use of internet and new technologies, methods of payment etc." Personally, I'd recommend they think again about that name.

Anyway, Spazitalia have taken the logical next step - and extended their building and marketing capabilities into Second Life.

Most of the island is given over to small stalls - the Spazitalia Fair. The intention would appear to be to encourage Italian small-to-medium sized businesses to come and set up a virtual marketplace. However, I am not convinced that the size of the stall is really adequate for a 3D environment. The aim may be simply to provide links to websites - in which case the stall size is OK, but this would be a wasted opportunity in using the 3D space.

Although nearly complete there is clearly construction work still in progress, with a disco area, a forum and a couple of other buildings still in need of a little more attention.

More New Islands for May Day

Another quick trawl has picked out the following new/under construction islands:

BCI Navigation & DIAMNAV: BCI Navigation's principal activity is to design, manufacture and sell technological applications. The Group offers cartography and embedded navigation systems. Navigation system products include position systems like GPS, mobility applications and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for route calculations and navigations to points of interests. Under Cartography, the Group offers SNN that covers the various aspects of collecting, storing and viewing maps online. Their other products include bciPDA, a navigation software and bciCSG. The Group operates only in France.

Brabantstad: Brabantstad is an agglomeration in the south of the Netherlands (D'OH - bloody Dutch again!). It consists of the five biggest cities (and the surrounding areas) in the Province of North-Brabant. With its ca. 0,6 million inhabitants and high-technology and industrial performance it's one of the biggest economical regions in Europe, comprising; Breda; Tilburg;'s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch)';Eindhoven;Helmond. It is also one of Holland's one of Europe’s most dynamic and lucrative economic areas. It is conveniently close to 2 other new islands: Eindhoven and Tilburg. It looks like every town in the Netherlands is playing catch-up with Zoetermeer!

Becker GPS Lounge: Becker produce satellite navigation systems with route calculation, dynamic navigation and a display of special destinations in 37 European countries and a choice of 17 languages. I wonder how they will cope in a virtual world, with teleport as the prime mode of transport? Then again, it might be nice to know of "traffic hotspots" in advance!

VOK DAMS: VOK DAMS - a marketing company with offices in North America, Germany (their base) and Asia - have actually launched in SL, according to this press release. However, this presence is somewhat rudimentary - to say the least. Another case of rushing to press release before having enough on the ground.


Finally, we have the enigmatic cluster of islands: snet1 to snet4. There are a few possibilities here, of which the prime contenders would appear to be SNET or SNET - that is: "Société nationale d'électricité et de thermique"; "Southern New England Telecommunications" or "Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales". Any other guesses??

Oh... I have spotted such a mind-numbingly large number of new universities and colleges I will need to collate them all before presenting them for your edification. Also, according to my stats, we are only about 3000 accounts shy of the 6 million resident mark.