Submission + - Second Earth (technologyreview.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A new Technology Review article discusses what'll happen when Second Life meets Google Earth:
The World Wide Web will soon be absorbed into the World Wide Sim: an environment combining elements of Second Life and Google Earth. ...
As these two trends continue from opposite directions, it's natural to ask what will
happen when Second Life and Google Earth, or services like them, actually meet.
Because meet they will, whether or not their owners are the ones driving their
integration. Both Google and Linden Lab grant access to their existing 3-D platforms
through tools that let outside programmers build their own auxiliary applications, or
"mashups." And many computer professionals think the idea of a "Second Earth"
mashup is so cool that it's inevitable, whether or not it will offer any immediate way to
make money. "As long as somebody can find some really strong personal gratification
out of doing it, then there is a driver to make it happen,"