3pointD.com

IBM, which just launched a business group to pursue opportunities in virtual worlds, will make some of its private islands in the virtual world of Second Life open to the public starting next week (from around 18 December), to showcase some of the company’s early work and experimentation. There aren’t a lot of details on this yet (since the islands aren’t yet public), but some of the things IBM will be showcasing on the islands, according to the company, include the following:

Virtual business, or v-business – exploring how to extend business opportunities into virtual worlds, but also how to apply virtual worlds to business problems and opportunities.

Collaboration and education – focusing on how to extend virtual worlds to help business collaborate both internally and externally in ways that more closely resemble real life, and where we are using these immersive, 3D environments to simplify complex concepts by “showing” them in a visual fashion.

Innovation and experimentation – working with a broad community to push the limits of what is possible with virtual worlds and to build a community to help build out the next generation Web, one that is immersive, interactive and 3D.

It sounds like IBM is shooting high with their virtual worlds ambition. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve come up with so far, and hearing more about what they’re planning.