[IP] IBM to give birth to 'Second Life' business group
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From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 13, 2006 9:01:27 AM JST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] IBM to give birth to 'Second Life' business group
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
IBM to give birth to 'Second Life' business group
By Stephen Shankland
<http://news.com.com/IBM+to+give+birth+to+Second+Life+business+group/
2100-1014_3-6143175.html>
Story last modified Tue Dec 12 15:39:57 PST 2006
IBM will launch an official group in January to deal with Second Life
and other virtual realms from which the company hopes to profit.
Virtual reality and other visual interface work is the next project
on IBM's plate, Irving Wladawsky-Berger said in an interview at
CNET's Second Life offices. Wladawsky-Berger, vice president of
technical strategy and innovation at IBM, led the company's response
to earlier technologies that rewrote the rules of the computing
industry, such as e-commerce and Linux.
"I have been playing a strong role in helping us start our 3D
Internet and virtual-world efforts. We are launching a new EBO in
this area in January--that is, an emerging business opportunity--much
like we did with Linux and the grid," Wladawsky-Berger said Tuesday.
IBM believes the virtual realm has potential for training,
conferences and commerce, he said.
Second Life, an online community run by a company called Linden Labs,
is an electronic universe where people's virtual representations,
called avatars, can chat, fly, teleport, browse stores and purchase
goods. IBM has one public island on Second Life, a site named after
and mimicking its Almaden Research Center near San Jose, Calif., but
the company plans to open up 12 more by Monday.
Second Life, not unlike blogging, has become a new trend among
technology companies hoping to show they're hip to the latest trends
and that believe they might benefit from direct connections to
potential customers. In recent months, IBM rivals Dell and Sun
Microsystems have launched Second Life offices and held activities.
[snip]
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