IBM and Linden Lab, developer of Second Life, are joining forces to develop "universal avatars" that will allow users to move freely between virtual worlds as easily as they surf websites.
Inhabitants of virtual worlds such as Second Life, Entropia and Gaia currently have no way of visiting other worlds, although companies see enormous potential in facilitating such a borderless virtual society.
IBM and Linden plan to develop 3D characters that would be able to travel seamlessly between multiple worlds. Standards for secure transactions to take place would also be a priority, as well as integration with existing web and business processes so that current applications and databases could be accessed in virtual worlds.
News of the IBM-Linden venture came as more than 20 companies met in San Francisco on Tuesday to begin thrashing out standards that will help connect the growing number of these virtual worlds.
IBM has taken a lead in experimenting with business processes in virtual worlds, where Linden Lab has become the leading developer.
"This is a natural and powerful collaboration," says Colin Parris, vice president of Digital Convergence at IBM.
"There is a lot of business value being derived from these worlds. With interoperability and integration, that value would expand tenfold."
Ginsu Yoon, vice president of Business Affairs at Linden, said it was still early days for virtual worlds and the collaboration of the two engineering teams could promote open standards that would benefit everyone.
"When you look at internet protocols, they are entirely based on open standards and you don't see widespread adoption unless you have got open standards," he said.
Meanwhile, at the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in San Jose on Wednesday, the Electric Sheep Company, a developer inside virtual worlds, will launch a viewer called OnRez. The web browser-type programme will allow users unfamiliar with Second Life to navigate it more easily.
CBS will use it to allow fans of its TV show, CSI:NY, to follow a mystery killer through a series of interactive experiences in Second Life.
Inhabitants of virtual worlds such as Second Life, Entropia and Gaia currently have no way of visiting other worlds, although companies see enormous potential in facilitating such a borderless virtual society.
IBM and Linden plan to develop 3D characters that would be able to travel seamlessly between multiple worlds. Standards for secure transactions to take place would also be a priority, as well as integration with existing web and business processes so that current applications and databases could be accessed in virtual worlds.
News of the IBM-Linden venture came as more than 20 companies met in San Francisco on Tuesday to begin thrashing out standards that will help connect the growing number of these virtual worlds.
IBM has taken a lead in experimenting with business processes in virtual worlds, where Linden Lab has become the leading developer.
"This is a natural and powerful collaboration," says Colin Parris, vice president of Digital Convergence at IBM.
"There is a lot of business value being derived from these worlds. With interoperability and integration, that value would expand tenfold."
Ginsu Yoon, vice president of Business Affairs at Linden, said it was still early days for virtual worlds and the collaboration of the two engineering teams could promote open standards that would benefit everyone.
"When you look at internet protocols, they are entirely based on open standards and you don't see widespread adoption unless you have got open standards," he said.
Meanwhile, at the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in San Jose on Wednesday, the Electric Sheep Company, a developer inside virtual worlds, will launch a viewer called OnRez. The web browser-type programme will allow users unfamiliar with Second Life to navigate it more easily.
CBS will use it to allow fans of its TV show, CSI:NY, to follow a mystery killer through a series of interactive experiences in Second Life.
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