26th January 2007 18:02 CET
Sweden is to become the first country to establish diplomatic representation in the virtual reality world of Second Life, officials said on Friday.“We are planning to establish a Swedish embassy in Second Life primarily as an information portal for Sweden,” Swedish Institute (SI) director Olle Wästberg told AFP. The embassy would not provide passports or visas but would instruct visitors how to obtain such documents in the real world and act as a link to web-based information about the Scandinavian country.
The Local – Sweden to set up embassy in Second Life
Hmm. And they laughed at Charlie Nesson.
Okey, hoo dues thees dern theeng vurk?
Here you go.
http://www.frogstar.com/wav/displaywav.asp?fil=swede.wav
Oooh…frogstar doesn't like you linking to it that way. I received a little slap on the wrist! Plus, it wouldn't let me listen to the .wav file. C'est domage.
I find it curious that in Second Life people are pretty much trying to recreate our existing world. I periodically visit to see what is happening. I see very little thinking outside the box. The learning curve is so steep that most are just trying to figure out how to get things to work.
Ok, since I was the laughing culprit here, let me pass along another commentary (via D'Arcy Norman) that has questions regarding SL applications for learning. D'Arcy also notes an alternative in this genre called the Croquet Project.
Hey, I can't even get off the island. It is far from intuitive, and since I'm not a game player, I'm not attracted to a lot of the possibilities. But: it does seem clear that simulation holds real possibilities for teaching/learning, whether Second Life will be part of that or not.
My favourite part is wherever there are amphitheatre-type spaces where groups can meet and either follow a talk or speak together. I love the idea of meeting "face to face" with someone from Australia, for example. To me that is my favourite use. But I'm really not interested in the part that involves creating animation (putting together clothing, developing property, creating things) or scripting (for improved movement, for example). If I could just tell someone what I want and have it done I would be much happier. And the concept of earning money to me is inane–why would I want to come home from my day job to work a second job in Second Life? 8-P
By the way, thanks for the links, Steve. D'Arcy Norman has expressed some of my scepticism. And thank you for the link to the Croquet Project. I do think it is going to take a good Open Source virtual world to really take this to where many of us want to be with it. For me Second Life is a bit like a scab–if I worry it enough maybe I will come away with some fresh, pink, fleshy ideas underneath. In the meantime it is kind of ugly and a little painful. Howzat for analogies?