IBM and Linden Lab, creator of Second Life, are working on adapting the popular virtual world technology for customised and secure collaboration within corporations.
At the Virtual Worlds Conference 2008, the two companies are demonstrating the Second Life Grid, a platform that lets an organisation create a public or private virtual environment using Linden Lab’s 3-D online virtual world technology.
Eventually IBM will set up a pilot programme that will allow IBM employees to explore the Second Life mainland and cross over into IBM’s custom-built world behind a firewall without having to log on and off. The process is similar to using the same browser to access corporate intranet pages as well as non-secure Internet sites.
“The Second Life Grid was built to allow enterprises to reap the benefits and methodologies of virtual worlds,” said Ginsu Yoon, Vice President of Business Affairs, Linden Lab. “We share a vision that virtual world technologies and collaboration represent the future of business communication. Deploying regions of the Second Life Grid behind IBM’s firewall is a major milestone in the evolution of the Internet and will help accelerate the growth and adoption of all virtual worlds.”