3pointD.com

Here’s the weirdest thing to hit my in-box in a while: A design-your-own-coffin contest in the virtual world of Second Life. Held by Dutch funeral company Uitvaart and coffin-makerer Bogra, the contest starts February 6, when free modifiable virtual coffins will be available at the Bogra office in SL’s »Tathlina« region. Residents then have until March 1 to trick out their personalized coffin and return them to SL resident Gwendolyn Kronsage. “The finished coffin needs to be accompanied by a notecard describing the design, as we would like to know why residents decorated the coffin the way they did and what materials they used,” according to a press release. Rather hilariously, the rules of the contest stipulate that “only biodegradable materials can be used in the design process” — though this is apparently “to guarantee the feasability of the Real Life production of the winning coffin.” (more…)

A virtual picnic at the Second Life Relay for Life

The Second Life Relay For Life that’s held each year in association with the American Cancer Society is about to get under way again, with an event on February 17 that kicks off the fund-raising season. The relay itself isn’t until July 28, according to Jade Lily, who has been the force behind the event for three or four years now. That means you have more than five months to help beat last year’s total of more than US$40,000 (!) that was raised through Second Life events, auctions and sales. The relay event, which is always a good party, sounds like it will cover as many as 30 sims this time (again: !). Last year, I auctioned a profile in the Second Life Herald, which raised about $40 and was great fun. (Go read it.) I’m thinking about doing the same this year, or maybe trying to find something more interesting to do, either at the Herald or at 3pointD. Any ideas? For more information or to get involved, send an instant message to Fayandria Foley in Second Life.

This just in: Mazda’s latest concept car, the Mazda Hakaze, will soon be zoom-zooming around the virtual world of Second Life, according to a press release from the company. While the release (which contains precious few details) doesn’t mention whether it will be available to residents or only on display somehow (concept cars are generally just that: demonstrations of future design possibilities and not available to customers), I think it’s a cool idea, using a virtual world to show off something like a concept car, which is basically just an idea machined into reality. Of course, “just an idea” hardly does justice to how much work goes into these things. Mazda’s presence is being built out on »Nagare Island«, although the island was still closed when I tried to teleport in just now. The island is named for the concept of “flow” that is behind Mazda’s new designs — which may well make them perfect for showing off in Second Life, judging by the work of some. The Hakaze is Mazda’s third concept car of the season. It will be interesting to see just what they do with it in SL.