When speaking of virtual worlds, a lot of emphasis falls upon the way the 3D objects (humans, houses…) are represented and can interact with one another. But I believe that one major reason for skepticism towards Second Life (to name one…) is the relative lack of contact with the great flow of online communication – we often regard itas being confined within its client application. A world in itself, I’d say.

But, by giving out the source code of the Second Life client application, Linden Labs has opened up a great deal of opportunities to make the environment more flexible by inventing new ways to interact with Second Life. This is already happening in several different ways:

• taking virtual worlds on different devices, such as mobile phones: it may seem unreasonable, but I’ve recently read that Linden Labs, which produces Second Life, and Activision, which has merged with World of WarCraft developer and publisher Blizzard, have both already announced partnerships with Vollee in order to develop this functionality;
• using the web browser to access a set of functions of Second Life (like here and here): this would have a considerable impact in enabling access from behind corporate firewalls;
• using fancy controllers to move your avatar: webcams, sensors attached to the body or advanced game controllers such as Nintendo’s Wiimote.

On another level of interaction, Second Life has shown little integration with the web so far (and this, in my opinion, is one of the reasons for an endemic hostility against the whole issue of virtual worlds). But the web can be enhanced by 3D interaction, for example by adding it to activities such as eLearning – where the social factor is important and can improve the overall experience.