* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Second Life

Blobrana · L

At 4:30 p.m. , 4th January, 2010
LeRoy Doggett Prize: History of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate, in Second Life

LINK

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Visit Pompeii with the Victorians in Second Life

A 3D recreation of a Roman house in Pompeii has been built in the virtual world Second Life by Dr Shelley Hales and Dr Nic Earle from the University of Bristol.
The 3D recreation will be unveiled at a joint online and real world event today at 1pm.

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International Year of Astronomy in Second Life
In Second Life, the International Year of Astronomy is being celebrated in the Astronomy 2009 sim, which is in a cluster of science-oriented islands known as SciLands. There is a section devoted to astrophotography, with photographs on display that show both distance objects in space as well as scenes on Earth, such as two photographs from Iran, one showing the moon behind the surviving columns of the ruins of Persepolis and the other a striking long-exposure shot showing stars' motion over a barren landscape.

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Virtual world offers new locale for problem solving
Second Life, a virtual world created in 2003, currently boasts more than 12 million users worldwide who go there for everything from college recruiting to shopping. Now, Penn State researchers are investigating how virtual teams can better solve real world problems by collaborating in Second Life.

Source

Blobrana · L

Science Education in Second Life, Part 1

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With the help of virtual worlds such as Second Life -- which can release them from the burdens of physics -- everyday people are starting to explore space without actually going there. So far, NASA has begun to host avatars on two islands in Second Life: one for experimenting and another for exploring.

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Edd Hifeng barely merits a second glance in "Second Life." A steel-gray robot with lanky limbs and linebacker shoulders, he looks like a typical avatar in the popular virtual world.
But Edd is different.
His actions are animated not by a person at a keyboard but by a computer. Edd is a creation of artificial intelligence, or AI, by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who endowed him with a limited ability to converse and reason. It turns out "Second Life" is more than a place where pixelated avatars chat, interact and fly about. It's also a frontier in AI research because it's a controllable environment where testing intelligent creations is easier.

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US security experts have warned that terrorists might be using virtual worlds to meet and make future plans.
Is it good intelligence or simply more war on terror paranoia? We may never know. But the US intelligence agency, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) has warned that terrorist might be using Second Life or other virtual communities to meet and plan ideas for the future, according to a report on Vnunet.

Source

Blobrana · L

"As of January 22, 2008, it will be prohibited to offer interest or any direct return on an investment (whether in L$ or other currency) from any object, such as an ATM, located in Second Life, without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter. We're implementing this policy after reviewing Resident complaints, banking activities, and the law, and we're doing it to protect our Residents and the integrity of our economy" - the Government of SecondLife.

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