Chinese Second Life, “high-pee-high” to debut in October

Well this article reminded me of going camping a long time ago! ;) where a bunch of small kids tried to pee high as possible into the bushes!! But after reading a post on GigaOM you will realize that it is as serious as it could be despite the way the name of the game is pronounced! The actual name is HIPIHI, carrying deeper meaning than you and I would guess. "The name itself is in part a play on “pihi,” Chinese for “innocent child,” while the three i’s are meant to resemble the Chinese ideogram for society."
Since GigaOM's article is really thorough, I think it is better to guide you there, where you could spend some good Saturday free time!

Tags: high-pee-high, second life, SL, Chinese second life, hipihi

Traveling at the speed of ether, in Second Life or SL

Traveling at the speed of ether, in Second Life or SL

NEW YORK (AP) -- The tour was a whirlwind: dancing at a beachside disco in Spain surrounded by scantily clad women, grabbing a seat at a lively pub in Dublin, flying in a small aircraft above a lush, tropical forest. Time elapsed? Less than two hours. With no tickets required, no money spent and no need to leave your seat, touring in the virtual world of "Second Life" holds a certain appeal for travelers willing to delve deep into the Internet to find their escape.

Visitors need only download a free program, then log in. With the help of elaborate 3-D locales designed and built by the world's residents, tourists can watch their online embodiments - known as their avatars - lounge at the beach, dine at a romantic restaurant, or go out dancing at a crowded nightclub.

Like in the real world, it's easy to get lost. Longtime inhabitants of "Second Life" are creating automated tours, opening virtual travel agencies and even publishing travel guidebooks modeled after those seen in the hands of confused tourists.

AP article has the rest of the story!

Tags: second life, SL, virtual travel, virtual world

What happens when second life stops?

Second Life is populated by more than 1.5 million people with Linden Labs advising that the population is growing at around 38% per month. Those 1.5 Million users had a nasty experience this weekend when grey goo infected the virtual lives with golden rings.
Even if your virtual world did not have golden rings, you may have got affected by slowdown of the servers and the ultimate need to take the servers off line.
Some seem to have found it quite funny and interesting, while others were quite angry that their virtual world could be attacked in this manner or could not live virtually for sometime!
According to blog entries posted by Linden Lab, the company blocked users from logging in at about 2:45pm PST in order to manually eradicate the virtual world of the rings. Login capabilities were restored half an hour later.

Are these worms are the only problem that Second Life going to have? No according to some of the SL trackers like New world order or NWN. He brings out a rather interesting question, what happens when SL reaches 2 Million users? The post related to this question is a must read if you have any interest in SL.

Snippet from the post;
"So, how about two million signups, this year?

Well, yes. In 45 days at the time I write this on the 14th, we'll reach 2 million accounts close to New Year's Eve, GMT. The numbers are self-evident-– assuming they remain steady-– and the arithmetic was what they taught me when I was eight. A subtraction, an average, and a division. 45 days.

We crossed the million line about 28 days or so ago. That means a million in 73 days. I can't even have a baby in 73 days. As always, assuming the figures remain steady. Last time they didn't. The signup rate increased, bringing our millionth signup in at least a month ahead of the initially predicted date.

That's about 13,700 signups per day, in case you're wondering. Right at this tick of the clock, we're averaging a paltry 13,464 signups per day.

And the volunteers are pooped. Very few of them are active. The small numbers of Mentors and live-helpers are burned out. Help Islands don't get a lot of love from the Mentors right now. There aren't enough active Mentors to cover them anyway. And there are other reasons:"

So read and save your virtual life, be a mentor, be a volunteer.

Links;

New World Order article

SL Blog post grey goo on grid

Tags: second life, grey goo, virtual lives, virtual world, Linden Lab, New world order