News

August 3, 2007 - Just Ahead: The Web As a Virtual World

Imagine being able to have a digital replica of yourself stroll from one site to another

by Aili McConnon- Staff Editor, Businessweek

When Google Earth launched in 2005, users were exhilarated to type in their home address, see the earth as if they were floating in space, and then swoop down to view a satellite image of their house or apartment. These days users have moved on to upgrading Google Earth with their own photographs and three-dimensional digital replicas of buildings. But one day they'll be able to alight on a Google Earth street and meet someone else there--and even have a conversation.Read more...

July 26, 2007 - IBM writes guidelines for virtual worlds

by Rachel Konrad, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — IBM will publish official guidelines this week for more than 5,000 employees who inhabit Second Life and other virtual worlds where Big Blue hosts meetings with clients and partners.

IBM appears to be the first big corporation to create rules governing virtual worlds. The online communities are haunts of gambling parlors and pornography, but they're increasingly home to multinational companies advertising their brands and hoping to promote communication among employees worldwide.Read more...



July 23, 2007 - IBM Virtual World Guidelines

As the use of virtual worlds grows in popularity - becoming more integrated into many aspects of business and society- a set of guidelines are needed to help address how to approach choices you may face in a virtual environment. Read more...






June 14, 2007 - IBM's Management Games

Big Blue is promoting a video game that could change the way companies develop leaders and manage projects .

by Aili McConnon- Staff Editor, Businessweek

Thunder crashes, lightning flashes, and a camera zooms in on a shadowy, futuristic-looking, gray-and-black office. The camera follows a female avatar in slacks and a button-down shirt as she jogs from one cubicle to the next, up a spiral staircase, and across a high gangplank as dramatic classical music plays in the background. This YouTube (GOOG) trailer could easily be a plug for a new shoot-'em-up video game, or a slasher flick. Instead, it's promoting a video game called Innov8, which IBM (IBM) will start selling in September. Read more...

May 21, 2007 - IBM simulates business software in 3D game

Call it "SOA" for the gaming generation.

by Martin LaMonica - Staff Writer, CNET News.com

IBM on Monday introduced a three-dimensional video game that puts a businessperson in a virtual office with the task of constructing a more efficient company. Read more...



May 1, 2007 - Do Better Business in 3D

Companies should actively venture into virtual worlds, writes an IBM executive, who sees "incredible potential" as the technology improves.

by Colin Parris - Vice President, Digital Convergence, Research


Noted science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once said about new inventions: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny...'" Read more...