'Virtual' Journalism in an Online 'Second Life'

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Last October, British media giant Reuters made global headlines by opening an all-digital bureau within the online virtual universe (or "metaverse") program Second Life. The bureau is physically modeled on its New York and London offices, and is staffed by veteran reporter Adam Pasick, whose in-world character name is Adam Reuters.

At the virtual Reuters bureau, users can meet and chat with the character Adam Reuters, gather in comfy niches to discuss the news of the day and pick up a device that displays headlines either directly on their computer screen while visiting Second Life or on in-world monitors they can install on their own digital land.

Some of those headlines relate to events within Second Life, while others concern the outside world. Adam also writes articles for the website Secondlife.reuters.com, which also features a mix of virtual and real-life (known to many metaverse dwellers as "meatspace") news.

Launched by San Francisco-based Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is a 24-hour virtual universe that has become a thriving Internet community. Building upon years of advancement in video game technology, Second Life allows users a tremendous range of freedom in communicating with other live players and interacting with ever-changing digital landscapes.

Users create characters known as "avatars," which are widely customizable in terms of body …