Visits to virtual space games and trips to the 3d moon and mars have gone hand in hand with Second Life since the beginning. In the below video we see a tour of the new Apollo 11 Tranquility 3d Space Base in Second Life as well as a virtual Lunar Landing and astronaut spacewalk. You can view video and images of the real thing and take your avatar out in a space suit and hop around with moon like gravity as you explore the Lunar Landing. Walk in the footsteps of famous astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin. This is a great educational opportunity or just a fun experience.

This virtual sim was created by Linden Lab Gold Partner Daden Limited. Check out the below video. Teleport there now.

Virtual Space Game: Apollo 11 Lunar Landing & Astronaut Space Walk in Second Life Video:

Read more here

In the below video we see the Mos Eisley Spaceport and the virtual sim getting ready for a speeder race in Second Life. If you have never visited Mos Eisley in Second Life and are a Star Wars fan that it is a must see.

Teleport there now.

Check out the video below:

Mos Eisley Second Life Star Wars Sim Video:

Second Life objects will finally be able to receive HTTP requests while reducing the load on servers. By July 15, 2009 a full deployment of Second Life Server 1.27 and HTTP-in should be available. There are a ton of great uses for this mainly for controlling objects in Second Life from outside of the virtual world. It is also another step closer to making Second Life more of a browser based technology. The most immediate uses will be for realworld to virtual world communication such as with SLim and other types of messaging, voice over ip, chat, and integration with APIs and services such as twitter and facebook.

With Great Power Comes….Great Limitations: Top 10 Limitations and Restrictions of HTTP-in Objects in Second Life:

Of course with this great new feature come some rather restricting limitations and rules:

1. There will be URL limits per region and split by land ownership

2. URLs will be temporary

3. A maximum of 38 URLs per resident can be used (this also means 38 attachment points total)

4. HTTP requests are limited to 2 kb in the body (wow really? Is anything that small 2 kb?)

5. Headers will be limited to 255 bytes (even smaller)

6. Response sizes will likely be limited

7. Per script limit of 64 flight requests

8. Speeds may be throttled

9. Returned data is only in text/plain; utf-8 format

10. URL limits are the same as the prim limits

Read more here

We have written before about Second Life dream homes. In the below video we get an inside tour of one of the most intricate and comfortable looking homes that I have ever seen in the virtual world of Second Life.

Some people’s real homes are not this nice. Check it out below.

Second Life Home Tour Video:

When will Second Life come to the iPhone? We have written before about Vollee and Second Life running on mobile phone and cell phones.

But when will this be a reality and when will Second Life come to the iPhone. It may be a few more versions away but check out the below fun video teasing of a Second Life type game running on the iPhone.

Second Life on the iPhone Video:

We have written before about Greenies Land in Second Life which is one of the most famous and interesting sims in the virtual world.

Teleport there now.

It was developed by Rezzable Productions who has announced that they will be leaving their 40 sims and Second Life after 2 years and 2.5 million visits from avatars to move to the Heritage Key and Rezzable Grid Open Sim which the famous 3d King Tut Exhibit also recently moved to. The Greenies Home will remain in Second Life for an undisclosed amount of time but all other virtual sims such as the Tunnel of Light, Carnival of Doom, Black Swan, and Crimson Shadow will be shut down.

Iron Man Video Tour of Greenies Land Virtual Sim in Second Life

Some of the builders employed by Rezzable are a little bit shocked and surprised by this development to say the least. You can read some of the comments under the official release below:

Read the full release here

Many people start out their mornings with a relaxing session of Tai Chi. But for some people it is difficult to find a quiet space. What better place to seek serenity than on your own private mountain during a virtual Tai Chi game workout in Second Life. I never thought that 3d Tai Chi would be so relaxing but it is. Check it out below in a high definition video.

Video of Virtual Tai Chi Game in Second Life:

Check out the below video featuring a Michael Jackson memorial concert in Second Life. Michael Jackson is such a musical genious. He will be remembered and his music will continue to entertain and set the standard for decades to come.

Michael Jackson Concert in Second Life

Second Life is filled with many different virtual love stories. In the below video we see a particularly well done machinima of one powerful love story. The video was created by Pia Klaar with music from Sean Fournier on the Put the World on Stop album. Check it out below:

A Beautiful Love Story in Second Life: Machinima:

In the below video we take a high definition tour of the Portucalis virtual sim in Second Life. It is very interesting area with beautiful scenery, art, music, and a cool urban setting.

The beaches are fantastic. Check it out and the below video.

Teleport there now

Portucalis HD Video:

We have extensively covered the development and progress of the Zindra Second Life Adult Continent. The relocation request tickets were available as of Monday, June, 29, 2009 and Linden Lab has already had over seven hundred requests. Large parcels have been requested and so more of the Zindra land will be opening and available. New areas will be added to the East and to the South. The closing of request tickets has been delayed until Friday, July 24, 2009.

Tateru Nino from Massively has aquired some data on Second life private simulator numbers and estimates the number of private simulators to be almost 30,000. Based on the pricing found in the Second Life Land Store this would put the revenue from private sims for Linden Lab between $2,250,000 and $8,850,000 a month at least. This is at least $27 to $106 Million a year.

This is not at all surprising given a recent post from New World Notes that valued Linden Lab at $700 Million given a $100 Million 2009 revenue forcast from NeXt Up Research.

Happy 4th of July in Second Life. Of course one of my favorite things are the 3d fireworks in Second Life.

But there are many more fun events to celebrate on this holiday. Below is a list of the top 10 fun 4th of July events.

What are your plans for a Second Life 4th of July?

Second Life 4th of July Top 10 Events:

1. CLUB ALOHAS-4TH OF JULY

2. Independence Day @ Mayhem

3. Fireworks at Celebration!

4. **TECHNO BREAKFAST **RED, WHITE, AND BLUE***

5. FIREWORKS! SCUBA! BALLOON! DINNER!

6. 4TH OF JULY PARADE!!!

7.  4TH OF JULY TREASURE HUNT!!!!!

8. Fishing Tournament @ The Bay

9. Spectacular 4th of July Fireworks on Beautiful Whimsy

10. Red, White & Blue Contest

Find more here.

3d Fireworks in Second Life HD Virtual Fire Works Video:

I have written before about Roller Coasters in Second Life. They are a lot of fun.

In the below video we see a particularly fun one from Second Life Japan. Check it out below and Teleport there now.

Second Life Roller Coaster in Japan:

The 2009 Second Life Community Convention will be in San Francisco and run from August 13, 2009 until August 16, 2009. The Keynote Speaker for SLCC 2009 will be Ray Kurzweil, who developed the first CCD flat bed scanner and the first print to speech reading machine. He will focus on virtual reality and virtual worlds and the type of communication they bring.

Second Life Community Convention 2009 Topics:

1. The Benefits of Virtual Worlds for the Physically Disabled

2. PLASTIC REALITY: Frontiers in SL/RL Combined Media

3. California Legacy – From Out-of-Print Literature to Modern Machinima

4. How can virtual reality make us healthier?

5. Real Life Religion within Second Life

6. Let the music play

7. Using the Virtual to Teach the Real

SLCC 2008 Keynote video from Barry Joseph:

Below is an interesting machinima featuring some art exhibits from the Post Era Crisis Exhibition. Check it out below. The video is about nine minutes long.

Machinima: The Post Era Crisis Exhibition:

In the below high definition video we see a tutorial video for setting both camera zoom time and camera smoothing settings. This can be particularly useful when filming machinima videos in Second Life.

The video was created by Torley Linden. Check it out below.

Machinima Tutorial: Setting Camera Zoom Time:

Today is the deadline for BitFilm 09 Machinia Contest Entries to the International Film Festival.

Remember that there are 10K Euros in prize money and the event will start in Hamburg.

The 10th International Festival for Digital Film and New Media is a great way to showcase your talent and it runs from August 13, 2009 until October 1, 2009.

Visit the BitFilm 09 Youtube page and the official web site for more information.

We have written before about the BitFilm 09 Machinima Contest. Entries are due July 1, 2009. Below is a video of another entry shot in Second Life. It is about the ban of land mines. The video also points out that over one million people have been killed by land mines in the last 30 years and 80% of them have been civilians. The video asks you to push for the banning of land mines. Check it out below in high definition.

Ban Land Mines HD BitFilm 09 Entry:

The Bid4ACure effort has raised over L$1.7 million in Second Life for the American Diabetes Association and Diabetes United Kingdom. This June benefit was the latest in several fund raising events. Sunday, June 28, 2009 featured a charity auction at Bid4aCure Event Island. In this event Second Life personalities auctioned themselves off on dates for wining bidders. Teleport there now.

Visit the http://www.bid4acure.org/ web site for more information.

Below is some high definition video of some of the architecture built for the Second Life 6 Birthday Celebration.

Some of it is pretty cool and is not covered in our previous video of the HD Walkthrough of SL6B.

Check it out below:

SL6B Architecture HD Video:

The Second LIfe 6 Year Birthday Celebration closes today.

This was an amazing event and the 4 sims of the SL6B were very cool indeed. The 4 large sims of the celebration were larger than the initial entire Second Life.

To sit or not to sit? That is the question…..

Below we see the closing keynote from Second Life founder Phillip Rosedale (known as Phillip Linden). Check out the video below. He also highlights that over 17,000 visitors came to the Second Life Birthday Celebration from over 140 countries. Please note that the build and sims will still be open for about a week after the celebration closes. Teleport there now.

Phillip Rosedale Second Life 6th Birthday Closing Keynote Video:

HD Flyby of SL6B Event Locations

Below is a very well done machinima created in Second Life. It is titled “I Will Find You”. It was filmed at the Empress & Hierophant virtual sims in Second Life. Teleport there now.

I really liked the imagery of the storm, the waves, and the coast. Searching for a lover and for a lost lamb seemed to fit well together for some reason. Does one of the rams turn into her perfect man?

It was funny that there were sheep noises at the very end. Check out the high definition video below.

Second Life HD Machinima: I Will Find You:

The below video features an exhibit from the Second Life 6 year Birthday Celebration.

In it the World Without Borders exhibit is shown off. It is a very interesting work of art. The exhibit was built by Pantano Boa with concept from Irene Muni. Check out the below video:

SL6B World Without Borders Exhibit Video:

In sharp contrast to a different post on duck hunting in Second Life.

In the below video we experience what it is like to be a duck. The below video was made in Second Life and features two virtual ducks swimming around. Check it out below.

Video: Virtual Ducks in Second Life:

In the below video tournament you see a promo for the British Council Teen Second Life football tournament. It will be held in Teen Second Life on Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 13:00 Central European Time which is 4:00 am Second Life time. The tournament will be held in a footbal arena at the BritishCouncil Isle virtual sim in Teen Second Life.

British Council Teen Second Life Football Tournament:

We have written before about the Star Wars Second Life machinima Escape. Below is the trailer video for it. The machinima is scheduled to be completed in Winter of 2009. Check out the below video:

Second Life Star Wars Escape Machinima Trailer:

Linden Lab has released an update to Zindra in Second Life. This includes a new map which you can see below. Tickets will be available starting on Monday, June 29, 2009 at 10:00 am.

The ticketing process will be open for 3 weeks and close on July, 20, 2009 at 10 am. Check out the updated map below.

Read more information here

Today is Helen Keller Day in the virutal world of Second Life. This event celebrates the inclusion of everyone in virtual worlds despite disadvantages or disabilities as well as Helen Keller’s birthday. The event runs for 24 hours starting at 12:00 am June 27, 2009 at Pacific time.

This event will include the Virtual Guide Dog Project which gives your avatar a virtual guide dog named Max. This tool helps the visually impaired and blind to experience the virtual world of Second Life. Max is a German Sheperd that can lead his owner to the owner of other virtual objects, provide audio feedback on the surroundings and items encountered.

A keynote address will be given by Helen Keller’s great grandniece Keller Johnson Thompson. Other events include a wheelchair race, photo contest, building contests, presentations, games, and more.

Find out more here and at the http://www.virtualguidedog.com/ web site.

The below high definition video is a beautiful tour of the magical Garden of Dreams virtual sim in Second Life. Some of the locations, environmental details, and detailed nature additions are wonderful.

Teleport there now

Check out the video below:

HD Video of Second Life Garden of Dreams Sim: