Rumors of Google's plans to create a virtual world that rivals that
of Second Life have popped up once again over the weekend. The company could
now be collaborating with Arizona State University to test the 3D social network,
which may be tied into Google's current applications of Google Earth and
Google Maps.
To us, it seems that a virtual world is natural progression of Google Earth
and its 3D representations of... well, the Earth.
Users could create avatars,
like those in Second Life.
But the purpose wouldn't be to rival
Second Life and all of its fantasy,
sex,
and
moneymaking
schemes.
Google Earth CTO Michael Jones
insisted
(first comment after the post) in January that Google Earth would always remain
true to the real world and not dive into the type of fantasy world that
Second
Life has become. Therefore, Google's implementation would be more like
"First Life," but in virtual form.
clipped from: arstechnica.com