Under Construction: Unilever

Just spotted: Unilever.

Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch conglomerate with hundreds of brands, much like Procter & Gamble. One of its brands, Ben & Jerrys has tested the virtual waters in 2007, and now the mothership is coming down with a double sim under construction. Not yet accessible though.

Suntory Update

Early may I blogged that the Japanese mega-brewer Suntory was entering Second Life. Here's an update.

A few weeks ago I went to take a look and saw nothing much besides some rudimentary blocks marking a rough setup. It was enough to get hold of the name of the person who was building it, but she wasn't very forthcoming.

Today I went in for another peek, while enjoying a Suntory Yamazaki whisky and found a little progress, so let's keep an eye on them...

Dutch Railways-Connexxion-Arriva-DHL enter Second Life

Nothing special has happened for a long long time in the 0031 sims, but now it is getting interesting as the Dutch Railways (NS, or Nederlandse Spoorwegen) are doing a triple sim build.In short there are two trainroutes that are being build:

A <--> B
which is Lunteren (5km from where I live) to Amersfoort, which is a relatively large station close to Utrecht.

C <--> D
Winsum to Groningen. Groningen is the capital of the Province Groningen, up north in the Netherlands bordering Germany


It's still in development, and closed, but nice to see new initiative coming, though I'll doubt this build will add weight to their performance contract to have (?) 98% of trains run on time.
Aside from the NS it looks like Connexxion and Arriva, two bus companies are joining in as well.

Last tidbit: Next to the NS build is appearing a build that could well be DHL.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/0031%20Schoondamme/132/72/55

PS:

Thanks for the tip Dobre

Real Life Cities 7: Munich

The Germans are coming! Second Life is hot in Germany, where it currently sees the fastest growth in registrations. This also reflects on the arrival of a of new german builds. The great city of Munich is such a new sim under construction.

It still is under construction, but already interesting enough to blog it, although the first sight didn't trigger that idea. The first thing I saw was a stand with the well-known German beer pot.

The sim is covered with a simplified map of Real Life Munich and it seems to be the intend to build an exact copy.

In the second sim work is actually being done. Rough outlines of the buildings are quite decently build and also the texturing is coming along on various buildings as well. This will sure be a sim to visit when it is complete.

The detail and complexity of this build will be challenging and the possible showstopper in this build will be the time needed to stream all textures to the SL client.

Developments can be monitored at the website Muenchen-SecondLife.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muenchen/101/98/63

Renault Italia and ING Renault Formula 1

First of my Renault stops is the Renault Italia sim which is still under construction. The sim is largely build by Virtual Italian Parks. This site is still heavily under construction, so I was amazed I got in. Only the parcel was set to limited access.


being a Renault driver myself (yeah, I love Jag better but my wallet doesn't) I was interested to see what they've come up with. The sim is going to be the launch of the new restyled Twingo, which makes Renault the umpteenth Createur d'Automobile who uses SL as new model promo platform.

Aside from the Twingo show there's gonna be a racetrack and some other things that I can't see yet. Why Renault needs another racetrack is unknown to me, as they've got their testdrive lanes laid out at the ING Renault F1 sim as well.

update

Tonight Zoe Visconti of Virtual Italian Parks contacted me to give some additional info. The sim is going to open next thursday (31 may 2007) at 21.00 CET, there will be an opening party and free twingos to ride on the track (and gadgets as well).

SLURL : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Renault%20Italia/128/128/0

So, logically. the second stop was the ING Renault Formula 1 site. Since it's a F1 day it seemed to be a good day to visit the sim, but it was rather empty. The build looks good though. At the moment I was visiting and snapshotting the sim, Rivers Run Red CEO Justing Bovington contacted me and we had a nice conversation on various RRR builds.

I noticed that the Renault Italia and the F1 sim were quite similar to eachother, but according to Justin that was purely coincedence. Renault Italia and Renault / ING F1 are completely different entities. According to Justin the F1 sim is a softlaunch and "activity is coming up, they have to run the Monaco event too as in the RL one."


All in all, I totally like this build. More details on the build can be found at KZero's excellent blog.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ING%20Renault%20F1/128/128/0

Channel 4 update

One last interesting piece of information on the Channel 4 sim, which I -and a few other bloggers didn't particularly like is that the"channel 4 build is interesting, its going to change a lot :)"

Playboy comes, Linden bans adult content

In this blog I've tried to remain far away from the sleeze and dirt that is part of Second Life as well (as it is in Real Life as well), and stick to describing Real Life companies and Institutions entering Second Life, we're now walking the thin line... as The Second Life Herald heralds the coming of Playboy to Second Life.

Undoubtedly Playboy doesn't like to see itself mentioned in the same sentence as "Sleeze and Dirt", and true enough, their content usually is of a different caliber than some activities that can be found in SL. Since the big tease is Playboy's core business that is their SL strategy as well. Their opening is heralded, yet no specifics on when they will come.

Already it giving rise to speculation. Will it be a manor, will there be virtual bunnies... On the other hand, since Sex is big buniness, the question 3pointD raises is "What took them so long"

Linden to protect the young and innocent

To add a little counterweight, and most bizarre happenstance is that the news of Playboy entering Second Life coincides with the announcement that Linden Labs is taking extra measures to 'protect the young and innocent' from explicit content. The Dutch tech-savy site Tweakers.net and a few other sources report that Linbden Labs will ask more identification before allowing residents to move into "adult areas". Also residents are asked to label explicit content in an attempt to create a more decent environment for youngsters. The measures aren't waterproof and will receive both praise and harsh criticism. Once more, Linden Lab hasn't got the answer, but they're trying to work with the criticism they get.

SLUC: Lenovo Security Breach

I had barely logged into SL and opened the map to plot a course for today's travelling. The map scrolled past and the "Grey Square" of Lenovo appeared. I clicked it, just to have an orientation point and hit teleport, fully expecting to be handsomely told that TP was not allowed. But suddenly I was in...


The larger part of the sim is still in construction mode and seems to be made up of a central office that houses a giant computer which certainly has more detail than the huge Dell platform.


Surrounding the main building are a few office towers (still empty) and it looks like there's some room for partners. I can't say much of an experience yet, but it's still under construction. For now, we wait and we wonder...

"Lenovo Group Limited, formerly known as Legend Group Ltd and New Technology Developer Incorporated (SEHK: 0992) is the third largest personal computer manufacturer, and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region as of 2006. The company was founded in 1984 by a group of eleven engineers headed by Liu Chuanzhi in Beijing, but the listed holding company was incorporated in 1988 in Hong Kong. In 2005 Lenovo purchased IBM's PC Division. Its headquarters are located in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, the home of IBM's former ThinkPad group." (Wikipedia)

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lenovo/87/74/36

Virtual Japan

The japanese are coming to Second Life as I noted when I discovered the Suntory sim. I also noted a few other Japanese firms under construction in that same block.

Here are a few pictures from the block, which appears to be a mix of SL and RL companies

Dutch laywers pursue Second Life

The Dutch lawfirm Faassen & Partners is to open shop in Second Life. It's not accessible right now, but appears to be in an advanced state of development.

"Faasen & Partners is an independent law firm with offices in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Faasen & Partners has a practice directed at listed or non-listed companies, public sector enterprises and governments. With a strong foundation in the Dutch domestic market, Faasen & Partners is considered a quality boutique firm amongst the large law firms. Our firm focuses on business advisory and transaction management, though we have also strong developed litigation skills in all areas of our practice. Our firm has a specific focus on two practice groups; (i) Labour and Employee Participation law and (ii) Corporate, Commercial and Finance law, which includes European and Competition law"

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Faasen%20en%20Partners/124/115/44

Another SLUC update:

Seems like Red Bull is ready to spread its wings in Second Life as well and I've just spotted a sim called Mercedes Benz Vans.

NBA Slamdunks SL

Today the NBA slamdunked Second Life with the grand opening of the NBA Jam Sessions. The sim is mainly aimed at the Road to the 2007 Finals, but has some nice feats for basketball fans, like the hall of fame and the video center.


SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/NBA%20Jam%20Session/83/148/41

Second Life Under Construction

Other construction news from this region:

1. Terra Incognita (tv show)
2. BNP Paribas (banking) under construction
3. Agape (NGO)
   
   

SLUC: Suntory enters Second Life

Second Life under Construction

Today I was looking for a specific sim, entered it in the map search and there it was - a complete slumbleupon - Suntory, a huge Japanese corporation is entering Second Life. Suntory is mostly known in Europe for their excellent immitation of Scotch Whiskey (Suntory Yamazaki, Suntory Hibiki etcetera), but is much more than that. It's a multi billion dollar food and beverage conglomerate.


Or as Wikipedia says: "Suntory Limited (Santorī Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a Japanese brewing and distilling company. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to vintage wines. Suntory is headquartered in Dojimahama, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka prefecture. In the 1970's, Suntory engaged US pop group, the Carpenters, to advertise its new line of soft drinks."

Off course, the sim isn't accesible, but I took a peek from the neighbouring isles, alas still only water underneath that logo. However, Japan is making a serious move with several commercial, residential and big RL sims in construction mode.

Some more Japanese corps under construction:

1. Idu co.
2. HIS
3. Ameba

And there's more to be found here, but I can't make head or tail from Japanese.

update

Arriving from Canada SolidWorks (3D/ CAD software)

SLUC: Intel gears up

Second Life Under Construction

After crossing the metaverse back and forth today, my eyes are really tired and I can't make sense nor sensibility from some of the things I''ve seen today. However, one thing that is clear is that Intel is gearing up. After Live without boundaries and Intel Ignites OCC there's a new Intel sim under construction in the Millions of Us archipelago.
But it doens't stop there! A new cluster is emerging...they're up to something...
Then there's SMI coming next to SUN and around Sheep Island there are a few interesting signs too, like Baseball, Bridge International to name just a few new projects.

ICEX

Close to my company's sim I noticed an island with an interesting pattern. I couldn't get access to the island, but the layout sofar is inviting.

As far as I can tell from the logo in the bottom right corner, the ICEX Servicios sim is set up by the Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior.

Alas, my Spanish is a little rusty, so I can't tell you what it's all about.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ICEX%20Servicios/115/81/63

SLUC: Second Life Under Construction

A number of corporations have sims under contruction

Millions of US

• Microsoft (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Microsoft/128/128/0)
• ComCast (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Comcast/126/116/23)
• Warner Brothers (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Warner%20Brothers/85/130/23)

These sims are not accesible yet, but at least Microsoft and Comcast look nearly completed.

Electric Sheep

• Too many half finished sims makes you wonder if they can finish anything soon.

Rivers Run Red

• Heineken (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Heineken/128/128/0)
• Channel 4 radio (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Channel4Radio/128/128/0)

Lost in the Magic Forest

• Content, job agency (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Content/128/128/0)
• Aegon, insurance (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aegon/113/109/23)

SLionhead

• According to the CEO they've recently started working on some major projects. I'' try and scoop them.