3pointD.com

One of the questions about real-world brands coming into Second Life has been whether they would arrive with products that fit the world, or whether they’d simply show up with some money, hang out a shingle and leave it at that, hoping to garner whatever marketing pop might accrue. Most projects thus far have proved a pleasant surprise, and the latest is no exception. The Adidas outlet built by Rivers Run Red in the virtual world of Second Life has opened with an introductory product, the a3 Microride. Like the real-life shoe, the Second Life counterpart provides “the ultimate blend of bounce and flexibility with minimum weight.” In fact, it’s a great virtual-world product, acting like a kind of pogo stick for your feet, and with the option to keep bouncing you around as long as you’re walking over open ground. (more…)

GameSpy ran this story a few days ago, but for those non-gamers among 3pointD’s readers, I’ll point out that the Japanese postal service is releasing a set of collectable stamps based on characters and images from the Biohazard series of video games, known on these shores as Resident Evil. It’s neat for video game fanbois, but it’s also significant in that Japan is out ahead (of us, at least) in honoring games as a legitimate art form. The stamps will be on sale for two months only. 3pointD’s mailing address isn’t that hard to track down on the IntarWeb, so we invite someone to send us a letter using one of the Resident Evil stamps. Our first fan mail! If only…

Virtual Laguna Beach, the virtual world built for MTV using There.com’s technology, is still running slightly under the radar. But that isn’t stopping MTV from putting on some parties in their beachfront world. Though it’s currently in a kind of public alpha test, VLB is holding a fashion show this evening at 7:00pm Pacific Time. And on Sunday you can “come celebrate the top models by attending parties in their honor at the best clubs in VLB.”

The world, of course, is based on MTV’s over-produced hit reality show, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, now in its third season. The virtual world seems to consist largely of what the show consists of: socializing among young people, shopping, and a smattering of sex. Early members of VLB are reportedly fairly bold about inviting each other to virtual makeout sessions, but that’s nothing unusual for a virtual world. (more…)