Intergovernmental Teleconference

**Between Federal Officials and State and Local Associations**

**February 21, 2008 - 2:30-3:30 Minutes**

# Attendees

Denise Dreany NYS Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure
Coordination

Marshall Brown General Services Administration

Gary Cook General Services Administration

Eric Hackathorn National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Bernie Hilton Cook County, IL

Neil Hutchko National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and
Treasurers

Rebecca Fergusson Management and Budget

Pam Greenberg National Conference of State Legislatures

Alex Koudry General Services Administration

Dick Levy National Association of County Executives

Darlene Meskell General Services Administration

Lisa Nelson General Services Administration

Sue Singer Linden Lab

Tom Skirbunt General Services Administration

Erika Vick National Aeronautics and Space Administration

**Introduction**

Since early 2007, virtual residents of the online world Second Life have
had new neighbors -- a handful of U.S. government agencies that are
exploring possibilities for education, collaboration and outreach in the
popular real-time multiverse. The Intergovernmental Teleconference Group
met on February 21 to explore many of the innovative ways governments
are using Second Life to engage the public. Speakers included a
representative from two of the most active federal agencies in the
virtual world, NOAA and NASA, and a representative of Linden Lab who
founded Second Life.

**National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration**

Eric Hackathorn, an Information Technology Specialist for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) brought NOAA into the
virtual world of Second Life. He began working on a presence for NOAA at
home, in the evenings, and then showed his management the potential
benefits. NOAA now boasts two islands in Second Life. Visitors can soar
through a hurricane on the wing of a research, rise gently through the
atmosphere atop a weather balloon, interact with a 3-D weather map of
the United States or search for a hidden underwater cave on a side trip
from a NOAA submersible. These and other virtual adventures are
attracting large numbers of "avatars", virtual selves, to one of the
first government-sponsored, Earth-science "islands. NOAA's Earth System
Research Lab developed the site for users to have the experiences in the
virtual world they may not have in the physical world, and learn about
the cutting-edge science that NOAA conducts regularly.

On ***Meteora**,* NOAA's first island, you can find educational
demonstrations about the ocean and the weather. You can observe a
climate change scenario illustrating a warming world with melting
glaciers and rising sea levels or go to a virtual beach and watch a
demonstration on how to recognize the onset of a tsunami.

On ***Okeanos,*** NOAA's second island, visitors can hop aboard a survey
vessel and map the ocean floor, assist in the clean-up of an oil spill,
observe the effects of harmful algal blooms known as red tides, and
explore a multitude of coral sanctuaries.

NOAA and other scientific organizations have found that the greatest
benefit to a presence in Second Life is enhanced communication and
collaboration. Second Life offers users an environment where people
worlds apart can easily come together in a shared space. Second Life is
opening doors and creating opportunities for collaboration that would
not be open otherwise. This shared space imitates the real world in ways
that cannot be accomplished on a teleconference. For example you can see
gestures and body language, have the proximity and the ability to talk
with many people or have a conversation only with the person beside you.

NOAA, NASA, and EPA are three of the 20 organizations that meet
regularly in the ***SciLands***. The ***Scilands*** is a mini-continent
and user community in Second Life devoted exclusively to science and
technology. These organizations include government agencies,
universities and museums. ***SciLands*** members have regular meetings
in Second Life where they share ideas, help each other, and plan future
projects. Members also share resources like meeting spaces on their
islands.

NOAA did not create all the content on its site. One of the great
advantages is that content is shared by NOAA, universities and other
government organizations. One important lesson is that there must be
community planning, just like environmental planning, for a city to
determine how you group and present content and to make sure others in
your agency don't set up another island.

One potentially powerful use of Second Life may be realized when it is
combined with GIS. The possibilities are just beginning to be understood
but it is thought that it may be a powerful tool for decision makers.

Eric is partnering with several groups working on virtual tourism. For
Virtual Alaska, preliminary plans include a welcome area highlighting
current events and a lecture hall. Visitors will be able to pick up free
skis and ski a glacier. Over time the glacier will melt simulating the
effects of global warming. Drunken forests' will demonstrate the effects
of global warming as the permafrost begins to melt will and trees grow
cockeyed because the ground cannot support them. In addition there are
plans for additional information on climate change and the fishing
industry. Visitors will be able to go out on boats and experience the
same things shown on what it is like to go after the "deadliest catch".

The virtual experience is an important educational resource for schools
throughout Alaska. Because of the remoteness of much of the state
educational resources are hard to get and second life provides
opportunities for virtual field trips for students.

There are also preliminary plans for a Virtual Hawaii. Like Alaska,
Hawaii is spread out through many separate islands. The Virtual Hawaii
will highlight marine life, give geology lessons and provide a unique
astronomy experience.

Community planning is another popular use for virtual environments. Good
planning, urban design and zoning are all valuable. The City of Boston
is working with Harvard University and others to explore how it can use
Second life to extend community involvement. There is interest in
extending the connection between the city government, civic culture and
the community. They are discussing sponsoring competitions for building
out different neighborhoods.

Educational opportunities are thriving on Second Life. For example,
museums such as the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden Germany are opening
virtual versions of themselves on Second Life. There are 750 paintings
of European Art on the virtual walls spanning 500 years. Every square
foot of the building and grounds have been recreated including the
fountains in the courtyard, moldings, furniture, staircases and trash
cans. Vassar College has put the Sistene Chapel on Second Life. Visitors
who have been to the real chapel have commented that it reminds them of
actually being there only without the crowds and rushing. The city of
Cologne has opened a virtual version of its famous cathedral.

Universities are using Second Life to teach courses expanding the
possibilities of their distance learning programs. At least 300
universities around the world teach courses or conduct research in
Second Life. Academics are finding it can help teach complicated
concepts with 3-D models build collaborative networks for projects and
explore the possibilities of virtual worlds.

Libraries are also opening in Second Life. The Chicago Public Schools
(CPS) Department of Libraries & Information Services has joined a
growing contingency of libraries and educational institutions in Second
Life.  Once in the library you can click on computers with links to
websites and databases of interest to CPS students, teachers, and
parents.  By touching the various bookshelves and books you can download
books and poems.  There are two seating areas - a comfortable seating
area and a conference table which expands to seat up to ten persons. 
CPS librarians and teachers use these areas to hold their own
small-group virtual meetings.

For additional information contact <Eric.J.Hackathorn@noaa.gov>

**Collaboration Opportunities**

Sue Singer, Program and Product Manager at Linden Lab, is Second Life's
chief liaison with the federal government which is represented "in
world" by dozens of agencies as well as NOAA. When talking with people
about \"Real Life Government in Second Life,\" Sue found that many
people have the same questions, interests and need to connect with one
another. Second Life created the following resources to help link people
to share knowledge.

**\"Real Life Government in Second Life\" Wiki**

This section of the secondlife.com wiki is for governments to
collaborate and share information. The intention of this wiki is to
facilitate the exchange of information on what different government
agencies are publicly doing in Second Life, interesting links, and
guidance from this community on government related policies.

[https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Real_Life_Government/Solution_Providers](https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Real_Life_Government_in_Second_Life_Solution_Providers_)

**\"Real Life Government in Second Life\" Mailing List**

In conjunction with the wiki, a mailing list has been created to provide
government organizations ongoing opportunities for communication and
collaboration. It is also intended to keep interested individuals
alerted to government agency related opportunities and events on the
Second Life Grid. If you want to quickly get up to speed and learn from
the shared experiences of others on the Second Life Grid, or if you have
questions about how to best use the Second Life Grid with your
organization\'s projects, this is the best place to start. After you
join the list, please send out an introduction email.

[https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/governmentinsl](https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/governmentinsl_)

For additional information contact <Sue@lindenlab.com>

**REMINDER!**

The Federal Virtual Worlds Expo: Implementing the Future conference will
be held April 24 and 25. See the website for details
([[http://www.ndu.edu/irmc/fedconsortium.html]{.underline}](http://www.ndu.edu/irmc/fedconsortium.html_)).