3pointD.com

The virtual world of Second Life has seen a number of promotional initiatives in recent months designed to pump up the profile of various musical acts, films, fashion retailers and other performers and artists. But the performers who’ve visited the virtual world so far don’t hold a candle to an act that 3pointD hears is on its way to SL. There’s apparently a musical supergroup of the highest water [UPDATE: Duran Duran, no less!] that’s been running around the Grid in the guise of otherwise unremarkable avatars lately, and have been impressed enough by their experience that they’ve decided to launch in SL big time. No details of the project have yet emerged, but it sounds like a long-term commitment on the part of the group, who were platinum sellers at the height of their popularity in the 1980s — and who remain fairly popular today. Look for more news shortly.

SLBoutique is a shopping site for all things Second Life. Started by SL resident FlipperPA Peregrine in early 2005, the site has steadily grown since then, with residents listing items for sale, and SLB’s in-world operation delivering them automatically to purchasers (similar to other SL shopping sites like SLExchange and SecondServer). Yesterday, SLB saw a resident list the 100,000th item on the site, which marks some kind of retail milestone for both SL and SLB, and is probably a good indication that SLB is the largest such site going. (more…)