3pointD.com

Amil Husain, Global Youth Coordinator for the United Nations’ Millennium Campaign against poverty, sends along news of an October 14-16 event in the virtual world of Second Life being held as part of the UN’s broader effort to improve living conditions in poor countries around the world. Rockers Sugarcult will be playing a concert that day in California, and will have it replicated within Second Life at SL designer Aimee Weber’s »Midnight City« at 1:00pm SL time (4:00pm Eastern). In addition, SL avatars will stand up against poverty over the next two days — and be counted toward a Guinness Book world record that the organization is shooting for. (For more, listen to Aimee’s appearance on the latest episode of SecondCast.)

Will this help? It’s impossible to quantify the effect of such consciousness-raising exercises. But kiosks are being set up around the virtual world that will hand out the white wristbands that have become an international symbol of the fight against poverty. (Contact Aimee if you want one.) Similar (real-world) wristbands have done much to help the fight against cancer. In any case, it doesn’t seem like it can hurt. Stand up and be counted.