This week the SDForum Virtual World SIG is proud to welcome 2 new Co-Chairs to the group. Frequent contributors Eilif Trondsen and Maribeth Back will be joining the SIG with a special welcome event with SDForum on July 29.

Eilif Trondsen is the Research and Program Director of the Virtual Worlds @ Work (VWW) consortium at SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRIC-BI) in Menlo Park, California. The focus area of his research and consulting at SRIC-BI—a spin-out of SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)—is the use of technology for innovation, learning and performance improvement. He has 29 years’ experience at SRIC-BI and at SRI International, leading or contributing to a variety of projects for U.S. and foreign clients in the private and public sectors. At SRI and SRIC-BI, Eilif has held the position of Research Director of the Business Intelligence Program (now the Scan program), the director of the Learning on Demand program (exploring the role of technology in learning and training), and is now leading VWW. In his tenure at SRI and SRIC-BI, Eilif has given numerous presentations on various eCommerce, eLearning and virtual worlds topics at conferences and to SRI clients around the world. Eilif has also the author and co-author of numerous publications on eCommerce, eLearning and virtual worlds issues.

Maribeth Back is a senior research scientist at FX Palo Alto Laboratory (owned by Fuji Xerox), where she directs the Mixed and Immersive Realities research group. Her work focuses on the intersection of virtual environments and real-world collaboration, with a bit of ubiquitous computing mixed in. Previously, Maribeth’s research focus has included smart environments, multi-modal interfaces, new forms of reading and writing, and interactive audio systems design and engineering. Maribeth holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Eilif and Maribeth will join founding Co-Chairs Bob Ketner (Studio SFO) and Corey Bridges (Multiverse) in planning and coordinating the Virtual World SIG events for the coming year.

Please welcome these brilliant additions to the role of Co-Chair as the Virtual World SIG enters its 3rd year in providing the space for some of the most innovative ideas, meetings, and discussions in the virtual world space!

-Bob Ketner

I’m very happy to announce the confirmation of John Bates of Entropia Universe as our speaker for the Aug. 25 Virtual World SIG.
Definitely put this on your calendar to join us in Palo Alto or online (in as many VW as we can meet in) for this one.

“Virtual Economies with Real Results: Entropia Universe”

Perhaps no other virtual world has pushed the concept and execution of virtual economies as far as Entropia Universe. Launched in 2003, the free-to-play Entropia has a user base of over 800,000 users today, generating over $400 Million USD in-game turnover in the economy.

Blurring the lines between games, virtual worlds, and real economies, Entropia was chosen in 2007 by the Beijing Municipal People’s Government as the platform of development for the Chinese “Cyber Recreation Development Corp” (CRD). The project will create a cash-based virtual economy for China that encompasses business-to-business transactions and other sophisticated economic models.

Not only innovative in economic terms, the Entropia world is being deployed this year using the CryEngine 2, which will deliver stunning graphical experiences not yet seen on a wide scale on the web. On nearly every level Entropia Universe is leading in virtual world innovation, while extending the reach of the experiences from the game directly to real-world ATM’s.

The change brought about by virtual collaboration is only beginning to be understood. Join us for a unique look inside the merging of real and virtual economies via one of the most fascinating virtual worlds today – Entropia Universe

John Bates Bio:

John Bates represents Entropia Universe and is responsible for business development, strategic marketing & PR initiatives throughout North America.

An Internet pioneer since 1987, Bates is an owner of Goldstar.com the world’s leading direct marketer of live entertainment. John co-founded BIGWORDS.com, a leading youth marketer and textbook seller. John consults companies on sales, marketing, brand advocacy, as well as Internet strategy & public relations. Bates has guided the explosive growth of companies from zero to millions in revenues and has experience in virtual worlds dating back to 1994.

John is a highly sought after speaker and has garnered excellent ratings at diverse venues like South by Southwest, Harvard’s Cyberposium, WebAttack, Jupiter Online Developers Conferences, Vanderbilt School of Business Distinguished Speakers Series, St. Gallen School of Business World Leaders Symposium, VeerStichting Symposium, Virtual Worlds, Virtual Goods Summit and more. John brings passion, enthusiasm and long experience in virtual worlds.

Location:

6:30 PM – 9:00 PM August 25, 2008
Pillsbury Winthrop
2475 Hanover St.
Palo Alto, CA
*LIVE* online media linked from https://www.virtualworldsig.com
About the SDForum Virtual World SIG: http://www.sdforum.org/vwsig

New browser based VW application just launched today from Google.

Virtual Worlds News has a feature linked here.

Virtual World SIG location is up and running so let’s meet up there.
I chose the “island” room in keeping with the Second Life ™ tradition. We don’t need walls anyway. Check it out!

The URL is:

http://www.lively.com/dr?rid=-4023305174264225962

And you should see it below:

I found this list of OpenSim grids built for the Second Life ™ client.
The last time  I looked there were only 2 and now there are over 20 – more  “grids” and “standalone sims” than Second Life ™ started with in 2003.  Simultaneous with the rise of these Linden Lab has slashed private island prices and made low-prim sims even more affordable. It seems like only a matter of time before one or more of them support a micropayment function.

Check out the list at:

http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Grid_List