The Alphaville Herald

IBM’s Islands – Circuit City Partnership?

by Pixeleen Mistral on 15/12/06 at 2:57 am

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

IBM Circuit City prototype

IBM is expected to open it’s 12 island mini-continent in Second Life to the public in the next few days, apparently as part of the computer services giant’s initiatives in the 3D metaverse. The Herald managed to slip quietly onto the islands for a quick look around earlier today, and found a number of interesting sights to share with our readers, including an apparent partnership with Circuit City “to explore and experiment with how we can apply virtual worlds to their business” – according to a notecard that is automatically handed out as part of a train ride/tour of the space.

Inside the virtual Circuit City there appears to be an experimental interactive home theater, where one can move a couch to the proper distance relative to a new TV, and select the optimal size TV to purchase for their room dimensions. Clicking on arrows moves the couch and adjusts the TV size. While this sort of thing will be instantly familiar to long time residents of Second Life – the clickable arrows bearing a striking resemblance to in-world vendors selection arrows – the significance of this is that a large firm such as IBM is publicly positioning itself as a player in the 3D consulting world. While the Circuit City demonstration and a number of other early prototypes are not completed products they indicate an interest in how worlds like Second Life might be used for consumers and education.

adjustible couch and TV in virtual home theatre

Look for an increasingly competitive metaverse consulting scene as IBM’s interest legitimizes the business and galvanizes other players into jumping into the fray. Perhaps even more interesting will be to see how well Second Life – and its community of residents – stands up to the attention – and how soon competitors to Second Life itself enter the scene. Once interest in 3D spaces moves beyond the sort of proof of concept stage we see on IBM’s islands, the stakes will rise for all the players.