The most recent issue of John Carroll University’s alumni magazine features professors who are utilizing the 3D virtual world Second Life as a virtual classroom, bringing together distant professors and students.

In this case, a professor working on a novel that included Second Life (Black Market Truth by Sharon Kaye, October 2008) included it in a proposal for a social justice seminal series called First Year Seminar. Other professors caught on to the idea and passed it along to students, using SL in 2008 as a base for discussing and generating ideas in implementing Utopian ideas.

The cover story for the most recent issue of the Kent State University alumni magazine (Kent State Magazine, Vol. 8, Issue 3, Spring 2009) highlights the efforts of several professors using Second Life as an educational tool.

Although a feature story about Second Life might seem, “Like, so two years ago,” this is a prime example of how video games can be used to contribute to society and bring together a world community.

Titled “Get a Second Life,” the article focuses on the educational efforts of two Kent State professors and their students within Second Life with virtual classes and live SL theater performances…

The question of Second Life‘s popularity is one I have frequently mused over as I have examined this alternate online universe. While the premise behind Second Life is a noble one, allowing individuals and companies to grow themselves in an alternate universe, the results thus far have not always been positive; companies have slowly begun to abandon Second Life as a viable means of dissipating information.

Reuters, a large and international real-world news service had previously set up an office within Second Life but has since decided to summarily abandon their virtual branch there. According to 1UP.com, a spokeswoman for Reuters said that the service would…

When Google unveiled Lively to the masses, they made clear that the reason for its launch was to allow players to meet new people and experience new means for online expression.

That project sounded eerily similar to that other online space, Second Life, and if one were to observe the two side by side, the resemblances between the two would be near uncanny.

However, unlike Second Life, a project whose continued existence continues to affirm that people enjoy escaping reality, Google’s Lively project is now considered dead, to be effective December 2008…

If you ever thought that playing a video game couldn’t destroy your marriage, think again. This case doesn’t involve playing a game so much that the wife and kids are ruthlessly neglected, it’s about a man who cheated on his wife in Second Life.

Amy Taylor has filed a divorce from her husband after catching him having sex with a virtual woman in Second Life. (I didn’t know you could even do that in Second Life.)

According to Tech Radar, Taylor met her husband David Pollard in 2003 in a chat room. They met, got married, kept their computers plugged in and…

Blockdot has decided to open up a new, virtual location. It has teamed up with Asahi Advertising and Fivestar Interactive to build the Blockdot gaming center in Second Life. People logged into the program/simulation/game can journey to Asahi Advertising’s G7 Island to visit Blockdot’s building.

Moving day has been delayed again, as Sony has announced that Playstation Home is still not ready. Perhaps there are bugs (cockroaches? termites?) that still need to be eliminated, or maybe Sony executives think users will appreciate it more if they have to wait for it. This isn’t even a case where there is some good news to to go with the bad news. Its more like, bad news with a side dish of more bad news and a glass of mediocrity.

So first the bad news – the closed beta for Home is being extended. Things aren’t ready just yet, so just sit tight and trust that Sony knows what its doing. This also means that the open beta start date has been pushed back to Fall 2008. A specific date isn’t given, probably so Sony can release Home sometime in early November. Then there’s the mediocre news – news so blase that it probably isn’t even worth mentioning – some additional PS3 users who registered for the beta will be allowed into the closed beta. Sony doesn’t say how many people will be allowed in, just that some will be allowed in.

If you’re desperate for some kind of virtual life and social gaming, let’s look over your options PS3 users. I’m sure that there is something we can find for you to play for free that will somewhat simulate the Home experience. Don’t worry, only free programs will be suggested. After spending $400 on a console, you probably don’t want to go spending any more on nonessential games.

The most amazing avatars are showing up on Second Life thanks to the work of Damien Fate. Fate has perfected Final Fantasy X avatars, which he has also made available for other users to buy. Each avatar costs around $5 American, or 1000 Lindens in Second Life currency. His avatars are available for purchase in Second Life, on the SLExchange and on OnRez.

Keep reading to see a demo video of Damien Fate’s chocobo avatar in action. It even squawks!

According to a report in the New York Times, Cory Ondrejka, the Chief Technology Officer at Linden Labs, which owns the hugely popular virtual world Second Life, quit from his position on Tuesday (December 13, 2007). He is the man who helped contrived the code behind Second Life. Besides scripting the Second Life code, he more »

In a rather interesting gesture, Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has unveiled her likeness in the virtual world, Second Life, during the National Innovation Summit held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati November 26, 2007. She as joined by members of the Department of Science, Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro, IBM Executive Vice President for the Innovation more »