Second Life Development Becomes Political Football in UK

The NHS clinic in Second Life, left, BBC's report of the fallout, right

The UK government's Department for Work and Pensions has developed some experimental installations in Second Life, primarily information and conferencing centers, along with Britain's National Health Services-- the Prim Perfect blog has a nice summary of what they're creating, and their goals in doing so. Of course, there are many other SL projects similar to these, but what's uniquely interesting here is that the DWP development has recently become a political football, with a Conservative party Parliament member decrying it as a waste of taxpayer money, and evidence that the Labour-controlled government was "living in a fantasy world". (The BBC's website has a nice summary of the controversy.) A spokesperson with the Department defends the SL effort as a possible cost-effective alternative to real world meetings and events.

Ultimately I believe controversies like this are a positive step for government-sponsored initiatives using virtual world technology. The next inevitable move will be calls for an independent inquiry, and an official report where the cost-effectiveness of is studied and measured.

Comments

[Ahab Schmo]

LOL, Nick Hurd, Conservative MP, has spent more on stationary last year.