Online gaming has proved to be a very successful medium for bringing together like-minded people from around the world.

Now the same principles are being investigated by businesses as a way of collaborating and sharing information among widely dispersed workforces.

IBM’s chief technology strategist, Irving Wladawsky-Berger, believes these online virtual reality environments will provide the next stage of development for internet collaboration.

The supplier is testing one of these sites, Second Life, as a way to hold meetings between people around the world.

‘Over the past few years we have seen cutting-edge visualisation and interactivity created in the world of gaming,’ Wladawsky-Berger told Computing.

‘In particular, we have seen the growth of massively multiplayer online role-playing gaming (MMPorg).’

Second Life is among the fastest-growing and most popular of the MMPorgs. It allows users to build virtual environments and create functionality to interact with other players.

IBM has created a virtual island in the game, with access for only its employees.

Each person is represented as a 3D avatar – a graphic model of themselves – which can interact with the Second Life environment and with other avatars.

When people want to hold a meeting, an avatar can raise a virtual coffee table into IBM’s island – a visual indicator that they want to talk formally, says IBM consulting IT specialist and Second Life expert, Ian Hughes.

‘You start off with one chair, and when someone sits down, another chair is automatically created, so you get an instant virtual room,’ he said.

‘Sitting down in the virtual world indicates that you are actually participating in a meeting.’

While IBM is looking at MMPorgs as a way to collaborate better, education think-tank Futurelab is looking at them as a way to teach children.

Virtual environments are critical in the ways young people collaborate, says Annika Small, managing director of Futurelab.

‘The idea of a networked and collaborative community is very interesting for learning,’ she said.

‘You enter the environment as a novice and immediately get support from its community.’

But there are technical problems to be overcome, says Butler Group analyst Tim Jennings.

‘The interface available in environments such as Second Life are still subject to the limitations of PC technology and are quite IT resource-heavy,’ he said.

‘We need advances in speech technology and more bandwidth and processing power,’ he said.

What do you think? Email us at feedback@computing.co.uk

Further reading

• Games make move into schools
• Reuters open virtual news bureau
• Train company opens lines of communication

Virtual reality

• IBM is experimenting with using 3D online virtual environments to hold meetings.
• The company is testing its ideas with Second Life, an open environment that can be adapted by users.
• Online virtual environments are also being tested for use in education.