Begin forwarded message:
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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