By Simon Bucks, Associate Editor
Sky News is going into Second Life this week.
If you haven't come across Second Life yet - it's a virtual 3D world on the internet, where you are represented by a computer generated character called an “avatar”. Your avatar can look like you, or be completely different.
You can change your hair colour, your shape, size, even your sex. If you want to know more - take a look at www.secondlife.com
Sky News is building a virtual newsroom in Second Life, which you can visit and explore. It’s all being launched on Sunday 27th May with an event which we think is a genuine first.
Adam Boulton is broadcasting his Sunday Live show from the Guardian Hay Festival, sponsored by Sky Arts, and the second hour of the programme, starting at 11 am (UK Time), is going to be “simulcast” in Second Life. See Adam’s avatar (pictured), and those of his guests, including Clive James, Kathy Lette, Second Life writer Tim Guest, and Mariella Frostrup.
It’s been a weird time. The avatars are being made in the United States and the first versions needed a few revisions which involved some surreal transatlantic conversations “Thinner nose, wider mouth, less hair, more weight…”
How did it all come about? The original idea originated with two of our video editors Armin Ruede and Nicola Jude. It’s the creativity of Sky News staff that has ensured the channel has been responsible for virtually every single innovation in UK 24-hour TV news.
Our “Island” is being designed by a specialist agency Rivers Run Red.
Why are we doing it? Well, there are more six million registered users in Second Life, and more join every day.
It’s a new and exciting way to communicate, and as many universities have discovered, it’s a useful vehicle for education.
But most of all it’s fun. It allows you to do stuff you can’t do in real life. And from Sunday that will include coming inside our newsroom and studio, roaming around, and taking a look at what we do and how we do it.
What’s more, you’ll be able to take away a virtual TV for your own Second Life residence, which will show the Sky news headlines.
And if you are free at 11am on Sunday, come and join the virtual audience at Adam Boulton’s programme at the Hay festival. But come early, there’s only limited space!
Second life? Is one life not good enough for you? I’m still looking for a first life. I am not 36 years old and I do not come from Japan.
Posted by: Justin, Buckinghamshire 31 May 2007 13:49:41
Sky News have posted this all over their news headlines, yet it's been nearly impossible to find any details on it.
Posted by: Richard, Belfast 29 May 2007 01:06:31
To those questions about how to get second life,quite simple,just go to google or another web search program and type in second life,all the download,information pages etc. are there and then when second life is installed and joined by yourself just look for sky news on your search button at the bottom of the screen,quite easy and very rewarding,thanks.
Posted by: L 28 May 2007 00:06:42
The first comments on here today were before the sky news area had even opened,midday today it was and i quite like the area.
Posted by: A 27 May 2007 21:49:36
Press the search button and type in sky news to go to the sky location and search for any other places the same way,massive and brilliant world second life is.
Posted by: A 27 May 2007 21:46:50
All questions about finding locations on second life,PRESS YOUR SEARCH BUTTON on the middle bottom of the screen and type in any name you want to find and in many different areas you will find what you are looking for e.g. "sky news" and only 2 places come up in search,"freebies dungeon" and you can get all your free items for the game (mostly),i saw a news article on sky about second life about 5 months ago and i have been on second life every day since,IT IS BRILLIANT,thanks.
Posted by: A 27 May 2007 21:42:54
Thanks a lot, Sky. I have just spent a couple of hours trying to find the new SL Sky News Centre. Is it invitation only? Or were you planning to list it under Places or Events or, well, anywhere so that people can find it... Not impressed at all so far.
Posted by: Ginger Kittinger, Second Life 27 May 2007 11:58:59
The second life crashed my computer just now when I tried it and it was very sow running, it may just be me but I don't like this thing.
Posted by: Joel Hook, Thurso 27 May 2007 11:41:14
i cant find it in scondlife could someone please please help
Posted by: chloe essex 27 May 2007 10:37:40
does khalid work for sky?
Posted by: denzine, london 27 May 2007 00:51:02
Second life is the online community for adults, Maybe Sky doesn't know that the fastest online growing community with hundreds of millions of users is actually not second life, but a community called Habbo.
Habbo is like an online community/game used by millions of children across the world from America to Singapore, hundreds of thousands of children also use it in Britain, infact it's so popular the U.K has its own dedicated server operated by Sulake.
I've spent years within the community of Habbo, infact i grew up on it.
If Sky issued a deal with Sulake, the creators of Habbo, then that would be a more positive contribution than the virtual sky news centre you created in Second life.
Surely getting millions of children interested in your services, rather than appeal to the minority of adults who already use your services anyway is much better.
If you made a pretend television studio within Habbo, then that could get kids interested in your channel, and global events, and maybe they could host the pretend news with their avatars or do the weather etc..
and they could learn about poverty and the third world.
It's a shame you didn't research Habbo before second life, as attracting children to the news is far more important than attracting adults who already use your services.
You can check out habbo UK by visiting www.habbo.co.uk hopefully you will be amongst the first to open a virtual news centre within the community, it would prove so popular, far more popular than the second life one.
Posted by: Gregory Mahony ~U.K.~ 27 May 2007 00:36:08
Second life is the online community for adults, Maybe Sky doesn't know that the fastest online growing community with hundreds of millions of users is actually not second life, but a community called Habbo.
Habbo is like an online community/game used by millions of children across the world from America to Singapore, hundreds of thousands of children also use it in Britain, infact it's so popular the U.K has its own dedicated server operated by Sulake.
I've spent years within the community of Habbo, infact i grew up on it.
If Sky issued a deal with Sulake, the creators of Habbo, then that would be a more positive contribution than the virtual sky news centre you created in Second life.
Surely getting millions of children interested in your services, rather than appeal to the minority of adults who already use your services anyway is much better.
If you made a pretend television studio within Habbo, then that could get kids interested in your channel, and global events, and maybe they could host the pretend news with their avatars or do the weather etc..
and they could learn about poverty and the third world.
It's a shame you didn't research Habbo before second life, as attracting children to the news is far more important than attracting adults who already use your services.
You can check out habbo UK by visiting www.habbo.co.uk hopefully you will be amongst the first to open a virtual news centre within the community, it would prove so popular, far more popular than the second life one.
Posted by: Gregory Mahony ~U.K.~ 27 May 2007 00:35:40
how do i get this second life on my computer
Posted by: francesca hibberd from ayrshire scotland 26 May 2007 20:53:02
i think that this is a good chance for people to see what it is like to be in second life.it will be lots of fun to play on it and then when you grow up you might want to be a news reporter.
Posted by: dean cooke 26 May 2007 19:14:52
i am 36 years old i come from japan
Posted by: dean coyu 26 May 2007 19:07:53
What a waste of time, energy, money, resources, and so on. The money sky put into this could have gone to charity. The carbon footprint being left from sky doing this is also adding to the growing one of the world. These virtual worlds don't run on virtual electricity. There's enough problems in the real world. It's sad that people have to create an online one to live their lives sat in front of a PC instead of dealing with what's going on outside.
Posted by: Matthew, Sheffield 26 May 2007 19:05:32
I can see where people are comign from when they say people don't have lives and all that but come on, i highly doubt that the majority of people sit locked up in their room on the computer just to live in their second life. Its just a bit of fun for everyone and those who are depressed get another chance without suicide so everyone wins.
Posted by: Zac, London 26 May 2007 16:29:27
I'm pleased that Sky News is going in to Second Life. I have been there for several months now, I have my own offices for my company Sector Software in there and I'm enjoying every minute of it. The problem with Second Life is that there are many luddites out there who will dismiss this new evolving medium without knowing anything about it. My business has been enhanced by my small presence in Second Life even though my offices are still unfinished!
Businesses need to wake up to Second Life and not be like the many people who in 1990/1991 said to me "Who do you think you are wanting a mobile phone" and "Who would want to make a phone call in the street"!
In all areas of advancing technology you will find the early adopters, and often they are ridiculed or ignored by the mainstream until the technology suddenly becomes fashionable to the masses.
Well done Sky News.
Posted by: David Batty 26 May 2007 13:19:17
This has got to be a joke. What a waste of money. How is this going to enable Sky to deliver the news any better than its counterparts?
Posted by: Jason, SE London 26 May 2007 11:49:28
How do I find Sky News' island?
Posted by: graham UK 26 May 2007 11:16:47
I have to say I disagree with Andrew from Dundee.
Everyone needs a little escapism in their lives, a chance to do something different to the everyday & the internet and role play like second life allow people to do this. I have a fantastically full life but still like to escape into fantasy sometimes. I just wish my laptop was capable of running second life, cos I'd love to have a nosey!
Posted by: Gillian Devon Uk 26 May 2007 10:25:13
Why would you want to encourage so often this 'virtual life', which can effectively make children/people socially inept? Why not spend the time and money researching the affects it has on people’s social abilities.. Perhpaps you have a healthy advertising deal with this secondlife company
Posted by: James, Surrey 26 May 2007 10:07:07
Every day that passes bring the the predictions of Zayger and Evans nearer. The actual life can be difficult enough what will our virtual neighbours and nations do?
Posted by: Patrick Chichester. MBE. Kuwait. 26 May 2007 10:01:11
Wicked!!
Posted by: ChannyCornwall 26 May 2007 09:57:03
Just saw the news report about this project and I am now going to check out what appears to be a great idea and another Sky advancement in news/entertainment. Thanks
Posted by: John, Bishopbriggs 26 May 2007 09:33:13