Virtual Worlds Forum

Reuters' presence in Second Life is well established, but now the news organisation has competition, with the imminent entry of CNN. However, it's taking a different tack: rather than opening a fully-fledged bureau, instead it wants to sign up Second Lifers to submit their own copy and photos to the news service, with stories then distributed through virtual kiosks around the world. Interestingly, CNN is getting some of its top hacks involved in the new scheme, with plans to hold weekly in-world news meetings, and even training sessions helmed by the likes of Larry King. The idea is to generate new content from within Second Life, rather than just pipe in stories from the CNN website or broadcast channel. CNN's Susan Grant tells Adweek Magazine that the company is staying cautious with its investment. "I don't think we are betting the whole farm on it. It's one aspect of many ways we are engaging with users." I'm quite interested to figure out who CNN hopes the resulting stories will be pitched at: Second Lifers (in which case, they're competing with established in-world news outlets), or CNN's regular audience (in which case they'll need to cherrypick stories with wider mainstream appeal). (via Adweek)