Virtual Worlds News

New realXtend Viewer reVealed

Since late last year, realXtend has been focused on developing a new cross-platform virtual world viewer to replace the viewer shipped with realXtend 0.4. The realXtend server is an open source-based platform for virtual worlds, designed to make virtual worlds available to a larger audience. This video, which demos the viewer-in-progress, on to realXtend's YouTube channel on Tuesday. [via maxping]

NetModerator Tapped to Keep SuperSecret Super Safe

Virtual world upstart SuperSecret has added technology from Crisp to keep its 'tween-oriented world free of nefarious conversations or those who might want to prey on kids online. SuperSecret has a unique spin on the virtual world experience, giving users --  mostly kids in their early teens -- a "soft debut" into the online world. It does so with functionality that mimics MySpace, Facebook, and instant messaging tools in the same way that a younger sibling might look to an older brother or sister fro guidance. As for the inclusion of Crisp NetModerator, the idea seems to be to build every check into the SuperSecret experience, so introduction to a social life online is safe and encouraging -- from the start.

Says Ted Barnett, co-founder and CEO of SuperSecret, of the agreement: "We have designed SuperSecret.com to be a safe environment where children can learn about online social interaction. NetModerator is an important part of that commitment as it provides parents with a reassurance that our world is being moderated by experts using the most advanced and sophisticated safety software available."

New iPhone OS Highlights Speed, Transactions

Today at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple announced that iPhone OS 3.0 featuring in-app microtransactions will go live on June 17th. The new OS adds numerous other features to the iPhone as well, including faster boot times for games.

Microsoft: Avatars, Si; Virtual Worlds, Nyet

Last year, the New Xbox Experience introduced fully customizable avatars to Xbox Live players. With those avatars, came the attendant thought that Microsoft might be prepping an entry point into virtual worlds, with one exec going so far as to tell VirtualWorldsNews, "We’re thinking about the [virtual worlds] space heavily and have been involved in a gaming aspect for quite some time."

But that was 2008.

Linden Lab Preps for Nebraska, Says Pricing Due Soon

Is the eminent roll-out of Nebraska, the virtual world-in-a-box being developed at Linden Lab, responsible for the company's rabid pace of hiring? According to the San Francisco Business Times, Linden Lab has hired nearly 30 people since the beginning of the year, with 25 of the hires devoted to the marketing and development of Second Life products for enterprise customers. And still there is a need for 18 additional staffers, according to the company. But just how many of those new and upcoming hires are related to LL's standalone version of Second Life designed to run behind a company's (or school's) firewall, the company wouldn't say. One thing it would disclose is that pricing for the product is due to be revealed this summer.

NetModerator Expands to Rich Content

Largely associated with the policing of text-based comments on web sites, MMOs and in virtual worlds, Crisp has expanded its NetModerator brand into the broader area of user-generated content and will now vet images, video and text. Crisp says the new application, dubbed NetModerator for UGC, will be on the lookout for a full range of brand abuse, griefing, spam, pornography and obscenity.

Linden Establishes Solutions Provider Gold Standard

Say you are the chief marketing officer at a major university and want to accelerate your online presence by building an island on Second Life. Who do you call? Today, the answer to that question became markedly easier as Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, established a Gold Solution Provider Program which lists 31 companies it considers uniquely qualified to get enterprises, governments, educational institutions and individuals up and running in Second Life.

ReactionGrid Releases BanBury

Months ahead of the projected release of Linden Lab's own stand-alone version of the Second Life server software, ReactionGrid last week said its plug-and-play OpenSim server software, dubbed BanBury, was ready for deployment. Priced at $8,950, ReactionGrid CEO Kyle Gomboy said in a statement that "BanBury represents the ultimate in ownership and security for education and business in virtual worlds." 

As is the case with the upcoming Linden Lab release of a stand-alone version of its product, BanBury will allow owners to develop their own virtual worlds behind a firewall. It is targeted at the enterprise and education markets who seek to place operations in a Second Life-like world, but one seen as more secure and controlled behind the firewall. [via Maxping]

Second Life Has Skype In Its Sights

In August of 2007, Linden Lab introduced a voice application to its then four-year-old virtual world Second Life. On Wednesday, the company is slated to announce the lessons it has learned from that introduction and how it plans on leveraging voice in the future, for greater growth and for what it sees as a significant uptick to revenues.

Quick Stat: Second Life Web Shopping Grew 50% This Year

Earlier this year, Linden Lab moved to make a roll-up of players in the Second Life space. In one swoop Linden acquired OnRez and Xstreet SL, two Web-based storefronts for buying and selling virtual goods. Both were rolled into Xstreet SL to become Second Life's official shopping portal. It seems to be working well, too. Yesterday a Linden blogged that the sales volume from Web shopping had grown by 50% since the beginning of the year, which doesn't include users who browse on the Web and purchase in-world.

For a company that's been profitable sometime selling virtual land and currency, any boost in sales, especially now that they come with a commission, is a good sign. That's especially true as Web shopping simplifies the process greatly, making it a casual experience instead of a fully immersed version. But when Linden acquired Xstreet SL, the company told us that Xstreet represented "less than 1% of the overall in-world economy."