Sweden to open virtual embassy in Second Life
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Feb 1st 2007 at 7:25PM }
Of course, since there isn't an actual Sweden within the world of Second Life, the plans for opening a virtual Swedish embassy (not to be mistaken for the ABBA Club, which is virtually a Swedish embassy) are really part of an effort to increase tourism to the Nordic country. Illustriously dubbed, "The House of Sweden," the polygonal building will is expected to open its digital doors within the next few weeks and is said to modeled on the newly erected embassy in Washington -- not Sweden's considerably more impressive Turning Torso skyscraper (as seen to the right). "It will have answers to questions on all aspects of Sweden," explains the Swedish Institute's Olle Wastberg. Indeed, the virtual embassy will likely serve as an enthusiastic and interactive knowledge hub, hoping to lure Second Life users into visiting Sweden in their first lives.
[Via Aeropause]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joansie @ Feb 2nd 2007 3:54AM
Malmöööööööö! Of course.
snrincognito @ Feb 1st 2007 8:52PM
I'm beginning to have a hard time deciding whether or not Second Life is a video game. I would still classify it as such, but more and more open ended video games are acting like their own art media rather than finished works. Games like The Sims and even MMO's like WOW have become more about the interface of the user and less about the design of the game. Second Life is like a blank canvas rather than a painting. Or even better, a blank wall in space for graffiti.
Dylan @ Feb 1st 2007 9:02PM
This is officially the first story that is OLD'D to me thanks to the Wii News Channel. ^_^
Crono @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:25AM
Of course they have to have an embassy.
They can't expect to tax its economy without a representation of the government there. The US is considering it too.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070131/tc_afp/afplifestyleitinternet_070131173518
This other article came from the New York Times, and scarily enough, there are plenty more like it. If the IRS starts taxing "income" in World of Warcraft, I think our government has officially lost its mind. At least one lawmaker has opposed this so far, but the fact it is even being considered is scary.
December 10, 2006
Taxing Virtual Economies
By CLAY RISEN
Economists, along with accountants and government officials, have started to think hard about the phenomenon of “massive multiplayer universes,” or M.M.U.’s. These are online video games in which players work, play and increasingly earn real money — income that some argue should be taxed. “A great deal of assets that have real economic value are being created inside video games,” the economist Edward Castronova says. To that end, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress recently began an examination of the tax implications of virtual commerce.
An M.M.U. is a virtual world that players access from their computers. Some M.M.U.’s, like World of Warcraft, are specific in their objectives (killing dragons and the like), while others — most notably Second Life — are designed to approximate the ebb and flow of everyday life: players open virtual businesses, publish virtual newspapers, hang around in virtual space and even get virtually drunk. All the games involve economies in which players acquire goods from other players by bartering or paying with virtual money.
Some of these games, including Second Life, provide an exchange system in which players can convert real money into virtual scrip and vice versa. According to some reports, the game generates $5 to $6 million in economic activity per month. Hence the tax question.
Taxing virtual economies actually has a precedent. In the ’70s, the I.R.S. cracked down on so-called barter clubs, an estimated $200 million economy in which club members earned “trade dollars” in a virtual currency, either by selling goods or performing services. In 1980, the I.R.S. ruled that such transactions could be taxed, even though no actual money was involved. The clubs quickly dried up.
Of course, it is one thing to talk about taxing virtual economies and another to develop the regulations and software necessary to do it. And doing so would likely drive players away from what is, after all, just a game. “In a fantasy world, if you go in and start taxing, you would destroy it,” Castronova says. “Fantasy places need to be treated as fantasy places.”
Write your congressman to oppose taxation of the virtual economies. It will kill MMOs.
Lint @ Feb 3rd 2007 5:38PM
Interesting note about that building, is that it was designed by Santiago Calatrava basing it on modules and the human skeletal system. I love his work, especially since I am going to college with an architecture major. His works are amazing! You all should check his stuff out.
-Lint