3pointD.com

Ever wonder what goes into the creation of an elaborate build in the virtual world of Second Life? You can find out starting Thursday morning, when noted SL builder Versu Richelieu will spend 72 hours building in Second Life while living in a store window on New York’s Fifth Avenue. The event is a marketing effort (dare we say “stunt”?) mounted by Intel to promote their Centrino Duo-based laptop line, on which Versu will be working. No matter how much of a stunt it may be, the idea — dreamed up by virtual world services company Millions of Us — is very cool. Building things is, of course, one of the core activities of Second Life, and watching an elaborate castle, neighborhood or post-modern tower come together is a fascinating thing. Now you can witness the action live in New York, in Second Life, or on the Web.

The live action will take place at the Datavision store at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 39th Street in New York City. And from Thursday morning at 8:00am, you’ll be able to check out Versu’s progress live on the Web at www.nyclivewindow.com. In Second Life, Versu will probably be building on the Millions of Us sim, but I’m not entirely sure about that. Millions’ CEO Reuben Steiger asks voyeurs to step up with moral support in both Second Life and real life: “It’s going to be hard for 72 hours and she’ll need lots of love,” Steiger says.

What will Versu be building? “That’s part of the mystery,” Steiger says. We’re looking forward to seeing not so much what she turns out, but what it’s like along the way.