A Scottish university is venturing into the world of virtual reality by creating a replica campus online to help promote its work and allow students to attend tutorials over the internet.
Glasgow Caledonian University has built a "Second Life" island, a 3D recreation of its buildings and other landmarks in Glasgow which will allow prospective students from other countries to experience life on campus before setting foot in Scotland.
Its creators have teamed up with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to use the island, which features a detailed version of the Glasgow City Chambers, Nelson Mandela Place and Buchanan Street, to help promote the city.
Undergraduates will be encouraged to set up "virtual" businesses to showcase their products and it is hoped the university's Second Life island will tap into the £767,000 of real money which is spent worldwide in Second Life every day. Lecturers will also be encouraged to use the online facility as a teaching resource. One course, an MA in International Film Business which will begin later this year, is being designed to be taught largely through Second Life, with only four meetings on campus every year.
Ferdinand Francino, project manager of the university's Second Life (Web 3D) Presence, said: "We can use it as a teaching tool as we can do things in Second Life that we can't in the real world. It makes a lot of things more accessible, for instance showing students a 3D vision of a molecular structure.
"We can have fashion students designing clothes and interior design students designing the inside of a shop. It can be used as a showcase."
Second Life, the industry leader of the virtual world, was established in 2003 and has around 13 million residents, called avatars. Companies such as IBM and Toyota all have a presence on the virtual world
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