Will Second Life Out Pace “First Life”? China launches virtual universe with seven million souls

The Guardian recently reported that the “Swedish virtual world Entropia Universe announced that it was teaming up with CRD, an offshoot of the Beijing municipality, to build a virtual universe able to handle 7 million users at any one moment. David Liu, chief executive of CRD, claimed that virtual worlds would generate about 10,000 jobs in China.”

It goes on to add: “Even Second Life, with a claimed 7 million members, rarely has more than 40,000 on simultaneously, which means that the Chinese venture, if it succeeds, would have a population greater than all but the biggest countries. This raises the prospect that such ventures could become major economies in their own right with no allegiance to any particular administration (or tax gatherer).” This is taking the “off shore” concept to the extreme.

There is more. “Second Life, which is still in its early days, has a daily turnover of $600,000 (£302,000) and claims to have created the equivalent of 6,000 full-time jobs as its residents make furniture or clothes or sell land or services. It is talking about having its own chancellor to control the money supply and manipulate interest rates when its banks start lending money.”

Will Second Life challenge firms like WebEx as corporations such as “IBM have found it is a good place to hold international meetings without needing to burn aviation fuel”? Second Life provides some lessons learned. It lets residents keep the intellectual property rights to their own creations and allowing anyone qualified to create their own open source applications to work within the virtual world. These conditions offer great support got economic growth in the new world. Thanks to the IF Team for pointing to this.

This post was adapted and republished by Social Computing Magazine.

Comments

[Nobody Fugazi]

With 16.9% global internet penetration - and that percentage being over 2 billion - 7 million is sort of like... oh... a small wave in the ocean.

[Michael Clarke]

But it's a small wave in the ocean which could have a lot of high-earning, influential, early adopting fish in it. As does (proportionately) SL.

[Bill Ives]

It could also easily be a rapidly growing wave if it take soff in China alone. But you are certainly right to bring up the scale issue as the internet is so prevasive. Bill.

[John Jainschigg]

It was only about 14 years ago that print and telephony were 'so pervasive' and the Internet was the rapidly-growing wave.(grin)

[Stephi]

Yup its a small wave in the ocean but the way it has grown and it will grow at an amazing pace even if it takes off in China, Good to bring up the issue.