Reuters Opens First Ever Virtual News Bureau

WebKnowHow
Monday, October 16, 2006; 02:05 AM

The world’s largest international news agency, Reuters, is opening the first virtual news bureau in Second Life. Created by Linden Lab, Second Life is an online world inhabited by hundreds of thousands of users worldwide and is one of the world’s most popular virtual economies. Reuters said the opening of the bureau is part of its strategy to utilize new digital platforms in order to deliver next generation news and information.

Adam Reuters

Reuters reporter Adam Pasick, who will be known as Adam Reuters in Second Life, will serve as virtual bureau chief. He said: “Like any reporter, I'll cover Second Life events as they happen, interview residents and uncover interesting stories. Reuters capability and experience in news and financial reporting will be valuable to the thousands of people who need to make decisions about how they run their businesses inside Second Life. Whatever the news, Reuters will be there.”

Second Life residents will be able to keep up with the latest news by using a new feature dubbed the Reuters News Center, similar to a real world mobile device. Users will be able to carry this free Heads Up Display (HUD) carrying live Reuters feeds of real-life and Second Life news wherever they go in the virtual world.

In addition, residents will be able to visit the Reuters Atrium, a town hall community center, where they can meet to discuss events, see the latest images and videos of the day, or just chat with their friends. A button on their Reuters News Center will alert them to discussions and instantly teleport them to chat areas in the Reuters Atrium from wherever they are in Second Life.

The Reuters Atrium will open on Wednesday, October 18, 2006. Reuters' Second Life news stories are available at http://secondlife.reuters.com.

Second Life is a virtual 3D world where the best content is user-created - the houses, the furniture, the clothes that people wear, and more has been built by its 850,000 users. Once created, objects can be bought and sold using the Second Life virtual currency, known as Linden Dollars. These can be sold for real U.S. dollars, so that users can make real money from their Second Life activity. There are several thousand virtual retailers and real estate developers running real businesses, making real profits. Second Life is also a meeting place and a playground for artists and other creative people.