With a new round of funding in the bank, Twinity is on as firm a ground as it's ever been. The development of virtual replicas of cities has proven a successful formula to date. Singapore is a Twinity stronghold and a virtual Orchard Road is on the way. Two aspects of the Orchard Road announcement caught my interest: Virtual Singapore was developed in consultation with the … [Read more...] about Twinity: intersection of immersion and State
Law and virtual worlds
Proposed ISP filtering allows surveillance of journalists, citizens, politicians
Should Senator Conroy’s proposed ISP filtering come to fruition, it concentrates extraordinary powers on whoever is to actually run it. It allows the surveillance of the Internet activities of Kevin Rudd’s children, the journalists at News Limited, or the government’s perceived political opponents (or its own members), or of anyone. At will. Without cause. Without warrant. … [Read more...] about Proposed ISP filtering allows surveillance of journalists, citizens, politicians
Net filtering and virtual worlds: reactions
After last night's story on the Australian Government's internet content filtering legislation and its potential impact on virtual worlds, the response has been astounding. Today has seen the largest ever traffic on The Metaverse Journal. Like any issue, there are a few camps of thought: 1. Those who have significant concerns that environments like Second Life will end up … [Read more...] about Net filtering and virtual worlds: reactions
An open letter on virtual worlds for Senator Conroy
Today's coverage by Asher Moses in Fairfax newspapers on the latest saga with content filtering in Australia, alludes to virtual environments such as Second Life being added to the list of content not suitable for viewing in Australia. Essentially, the issue is that online 'games' like World of Warcraft and Second Life have not received an Classification rating and therefore … [Read more...] about An open letter on virtual worlds for Senator Conroy
Content ratings, age-verification and secret words
Linden Lab is now in the final legs of adding a new content category to its virtual environment, Second Life. Being added to the existing PG and Mature categories is the new category, Adult, which permits some content which has hitherto not been permitted in Second Life. The new content category is anticipated to go fully live in July. Of particular interest, though, are … [Read more...] about Content ratings, age-verification and secret words