IBM to invest on expansion in virtual worlds

US based tech giant IBM has said that they are planning to invest around $10 million over the next 12 months to expand their presence into virtual worlds.

This would also include an expanded presence in the popular 3D online universe Second Life.

IBM added that its Chairman and Chief Executive Sam Palmisano would be visiting Second Life on Tuesday after having a meeting with some 7,000 employees in China. He would also be speaking with more than 250 IBM employees on one of the company’s virtual islands.

Second Life is one of the best known virtual worlds on the internet and a growing number of offline entities are establishing their bases on it.

It has more than 1 million registered users and has its own economy and currency. IBM has a solid presence on it and uses it for training and meetings.

Sandy Kearney, IBM’s director of emerging 3-D Internet and virtual business said on this new development: “We always ask the question, ‘if you knew 20 years ago what you know about the Web today, what would you do differently?’. The Web took decades. This will likely take half that time.”

Popularity: 1%