If You Think Second Life is over, IBM does't, and embrace OpenSim, too

IBM Drinks Second Life Kool-Aid, Makes More For Lotus Users (IBM)

Eric Krangel | September 4, 2008 6:00 PM

Think Second Life is over? IBM doesn’t. Yesterday Big Blue announced it was integrating support for Second Life (and a few other virtual world platforms) into its Lotus Sametime corporate instant-messaging product.

Why? IBM thinks if an engineer has to walk a customer through replacing a part on a computer server, the two can meet in Second Life and together manipulate a 3D model. Or, Sametime users could collaborate in a virtual world to review a Powerpoint presentation as avatars, which is better and easier than old-fashioned text IM or the telephone because… well… we’re not sure either.

The push to integrate Lotus Sametime with Second Life is the latest move in IBM’s full-throttle embrace of virtual worlds. The company has been working closely with Second Life parent company Linden Lab to develop a set of protocols that allow avatars to move between virtual worlds, and became the first company to host private Second Life regions for internal use.

Source: http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/9/ibm-drinks-second-life-kool-aid-makes-more-for-lotus-users-ibm-