Getting Started in Virtual Worlds

For those agencies thinking about getting into virtual worlds to conduct business, Tech Insider contributor Anne Laurent has posted on her personal blog, The Agile Mind, a video of a discussion on "how the National Defense University's Information Resources Management College bought islands, designed an environment, built buildings and now is hosting students in Second Life." Laurent describes the three federal executives she interviews as unlikely characters in the virtual space but emphasizes that that didn’t stop them.

The video is the first in a series Laurent plans to post on how agencies can take advantage of virtual worlds. She writes:

In my series, you'll hear of the challenges they faced buying virtual land through the very real federal procurement process, their personal struggles with creating appropriate appearances for their alternate Second Life personas, the communications hurdles in getting synthetic world designers to create space for a very serious institution. The stories are sometimes funny and frustrating, sometimes insightful and encouraging but always useful for anyone thinking ahead to a future when the real and the virtual aren't nearly to separate.