New Virtual Universe

Even bigger than Second Life - the Chinese are involved in plans for a virtual mega-universe.

Second Life - TV Friday

There's a programme about money-making in Second Life onBBC2 at 7.p.m. tomorrow (Friday).
If you're not really sure what Second Life is about, take a look. I shall.

At last!

The invention we've all been waiting for!

Many men have been disturbed by lustful thoughts while watching women cyclists, whose movements often suggest that they have bodies.

Now they will find life much easier, because Iran has invented the new Islamic bicycle, which hides the woman's body under a little cabin.

I'm not sure exactly how it works, but some details can be found here.

It reminds me of this cartoon...

Censoring the Internet

Countries that censor the Internet:

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burma/Myanmar, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

Read more about it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6665945.stm

Cyber War

Russians punish Estonia by overloading the computer system. The Russian government denies responsibility - but is this the future of warfare?

More problems in Second Life

This article suggests that the virtual world could provide a great opportunity for terrorists and money-launderers.

The article also says that

• Last year, Ailin Graef, a Chinese-born teacher living in Germany, claimed to have become the first person to make $1 million (£500,000) on Second Life. Her "avatar", Anshe Chung, amassed the fortune by developing virtual properties and selling or renting them to other "avatars".
• Google, the internet search company, is drawing up plans to compile psychological profiles of web users by monitoring how they play online games. The firm believes it can glean information about users' preferences and personalities by watching their online behaviour. The details could then be sold to advertisers.

Second Life

Here is the news article I mentioned.
Definitely very strange stuff.
This is a link to Second Life. They've got six million members, apparently, some of them with wings...

It's a place where people can act out their fantasy personas. The trouble is that some people's fantasy personas are not very nice.

Internet killed the video store?

A chatty article about the impact that film downloads will have on Blockbuster, etc. Raises good points about the hired video typically being a shared, social experience, while the internet download will be more solitary and isolating. (A point to use if you're thinking about social effects of new technology?)