• April 4, 2008

IBM and Linden Lab, parent company of Second Life, have partnered to develop a business-class virtual world platform--one that runs on the Second Life Grid, but can operate behind a company's own firewall. IBM plans to first test the platform internally, and then the two companies will work together to determine how to bring the program to scale for other enterprises.

The Second Life Grid allows companies to use Linden Lab's technology to create their own public or private virtual space, as well as tap into the wealth of user-created content available on the Second Life mainland. In the parts of the world that exist behind IBM's firewall, employee interactions like text, IMs, VoIP chat and document presentations will be secure. The goal is to create a productivity-friendly experience that allows IBM staff to move between the computer giant's custom-built world and the main Second Life world without logging off.

According to Colin Parris, IBM's vice president of digital convergence, the combination of security, customization and innovation has the potential to make virtual workplace environments a viable option for enterprise-level companies. "As virtual world technologies and platforms become more commonplace, we see a need for an enterprise-ready solution that offers the same content creation capabilities but adds new levels of security and scalability," Parris said.

--Tameka Kee