3pointD.com

For those who haven’t checked it out yet, now’s the time to get into Multiverse, the free virtual-world development platform, which has just gone from closed to open beta. “Register with the Multiverse Developer Program, and you will be able to access the downloads here,” according to a forum post. [Via reBang.] We blogged about Multiverse recently: could it be that an open 3D world development tool (albeit one intended mostly for game-making) will promote widespread adoption of 3D Web usage in whatever form, in a way that Second Life might have trouble doing on its own?

Business Week has an interesting article about the challenges faced by “real-world” businesses setting up shop in the virtual world of Second Life. The piece is perhaps the most forward-thinking of any that have appeared so far in the popular press, as it acknowledges that large corporate interests are beginning to view Second Life as a viable marketing platform (though one that still stands a chance of collapsing down the line). It’s nice to see an article like this quantify some of the work that’s being done: contracts to virtual world services companies are being let for anywhere from $5,000 to $400,000, according to the article, with some perhaps reaching as much as $1 million. It also doesn’t treat the virtual world as an “us and them” proposition, correctly so. The idea that there is a community of Second Life residents that are somehow separate from people who live in the real world is one that will have to go out the window if the virtual world continues to grow. It will still be possible to form communities on the Grid that are somewhat walled off from real-world concerns, but if you’re competing for business from “real-world” companies, you’re now swimming in the ocean, not the small pond that SL has been until now. (more…)