What is your e-mail address?
My e-mail address is:

Do you have a password?
Forgot your password? Click here
close

Close

6 out-of-this-world government sites in Second Life

  • Sep 17, 2009

Teleport your avatar to one of the federal government's Second Life outposts to learn more about NASA space missions or NOAA's environmental studies.

1. NASA Virtual CoLab
The Virtual CoLab, which has a real-life counterpart, hosts avatars from NASA and other science- and space-related organizations around the world in regular meetings to collaborate on projects and share information.

2. NASA JPL Explorer Island
This is mainly an educational site for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s robotic space missions. It has included immersive experiences, such as avatars that can follow Mars Odyssey and Phoenix Lander excursions on the surface of the planet.

3. NOAA Virtual Worlds
NOAA is using this site to educate new audiences about the Earth’s environment through activities on two islands, called Meteora , which deals with the atmosphere, and Okeanos , which deals with the oceans. Users can fly a plane through a hurricane and experience events such as tsunamis or the effects of climate change.

4. Coalition Island
Air Force, Navy and Army organizations have built a continent that comprises a number of different islands that demonstrate to their virtual residents how the various services act in certain circumstances. The organizations also use Coalition Island for collaboration, simulation, prototype testing and training.

5. SciLands Virtual Continent
SciLands is a mini-continent devoted exclusively to science and technology. Several dozen organizations, including government agencies, meet to share ideas, collaborate and plan future projects.

6. CDC Island
CDC Second Life Island opened to the public in spring 2008 as an educational space to demonstrate its mission and goals, and it includes interactive features such as the ability for users to study different bacteria and diseases with microscopes. Users also can ask questions of live CDC representatives.

Did we miss any? Let us know where else your avatar hangs his virtual hat by submitting a comment below. You can find more top 10 lists in FCW's annual Federal List issue.

Reader comments

Mon, Sep 21, 2009 rikomatic New York City

There's also the IRS Career Center, which can be found at http://slurl.com/secondlife/IRS%20Careers%20Island/129/128/701 .

Thu, Sep 17, 2009 Frank Ireton Lanham, MD

Lunar Exploration Island is a NASA funded project in Second LIfe for the Return to the Moon program. A central hall of flight houses exhibits pertaining to the LRO/ LCROSS missions and includes full size models of the two spacecraft and launch vehicle. Storyboards with information about the missions interpret the exhibits while links to external websites provide further information on the missions, both spacecraft instrument suites, and EPO directed to support the missions. The sim includes several sites for meetings, a conference amphitheater with a stage and screen for video links such as live broadcasts of conferences and speakers. A link is provided to NASATV for live viewing LRO/LCROSS launch and impact activities and other NASA events.

Please post your comments here. Comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately after submitting. We will not post comments that we consider abusive or off-topic.

Your Name:(optional)
Your Email:(optional)
Your Location:(optional)
Comment:
Please type the letters/numbers you see above

eSeminar

  • Where Cyberwarfare and Cybersecurity Meet

    We invite you to attend the third event in this three-part series on Cybersecurity. 1105 Government Information Group will present a panel of government and cybersecurity experts including Steven Heacox, Principal Systems Security Engineer at the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, DOD; Gregory T. Garcia, the nation's first presidentially-appointed Assistant Secretary for CyberSecurity and Communications with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006-2008; and Jeffrey Carr, cyber strategies consultant and author of Inside Cyber Warfare, in this editorial webcast on Tuesday, April 13 at 11 a.m., where they will discuss the cyberwarfare threat to both industry and government, as well as strategies to consolidate the wider cybersecurity mission. Read more

Federal Computer Week eNewsletters

  • Subscribe to Newsletters Subscribe

    Federal Computer Week's eNewsletters deliver the latest policy and management news to your inbox.

Highlights from the current issue