Reuters Enters the Virtual World

Tomorrow Reuters plans to open a news bureau in the virtual world of Second Life. It will supply text, photo and video news to those in the game. While they’ll be consumed in the virtual world, the news is generated from the live feed. It is unclear whether the news organization plans to sell or run ads through this channel. Reuters also built an atrium where Second Lifers can congregate and watch the news in a social setting. The atrium looks a bit like Reuters’ Times Square location, which may not be down the street from the virtual Fifth Avenue built last week for Intel, but will likely become a location of interest for a few minutes anyway.

Conversely, Reuters also plans to imbed a reporter who will keep regular hours in Second Life, and report the goings on in Second Life to the world at large. Reuters reporter Adam Pasick will act as the virtual media under the pseudonym Adam Reuters to observe and report on events so those in the physical world won’t miss out on a whole category of news.