Virtual worlds are serious business. Their use in companies is still rather limited but very promising. They are used to host shareholder meeting (like ArcelorMittal), sell virtual goods and share knowledge. This last aspect is thus far greatly neglected but visualizing information and knowledge in group has the potential to make the collaboration more focused, memorable and productive. Andreas Schmeil gave an illuminating guest lecture on the topic in the course of Visualization in Business Communication, at the University of Lugano. Virtual Worlds – like Second Life – can provide a unique experience for collaborative work and collaborative learning. It seems that the challenge is still in the creative design of virtual experiences that provide added value and go beyond the (boring) reproduction of the real world.
Sabrina Bresciani, Ph.D. 