Interoperability in Virtual Worlds: Experts Discuss Possible Futures
Written by Marshall Kirkpatrick
Linden Labs, makers of Second Life
, announced a partnership with IBM and nearly 30 other companies today to work on creating a layer of interoperability across all online virtual worlds. This layer, the plans for which are being discussed publicly for the first time at today’s Virtual Worlds Expo in San Jose, would allow users to port identities and other assets from one virtual world to another.
It’s a logical next step for the medium of virtual worlds and one that could cause their number and size to grow substantially. It could also lead to bitter, if sometimes humorous, conflict between users identified primarily with different sites. Nick Carr warned this morning that the move will likely lead attacks on peaceful Second Life residents by ogres from World of Warcraft.
