Australian Metaverse developer The Project Factory has unveiled an artistic remix of the alleys and laneways of Melbourne (my local stomping grounds). Rather than simply replicating a chunk of the city, the installation draws on the elements and flavor of many scenes and locales, mixing them into an artistic reinterpretation of the feel and mood of Melbourne's almost mazelike webwork of minor streets and byways.

Gary Hazlitt (aka Gary Hayes), Head of Virtual World Development at The Project Factory said, "We wanted to catch the vibrancy of the Melbourne Laneways and the architecture of Federation Square. Second Life gave us the ability to animate these buildings and give them the movement that we feel they want."

The Flash video [courtesy of the fast and friendly folks at SLCN.TV] linked above shows the site being unpacked at Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Island. So what are you waiting for? Get down there and soak some of the Melbournian ambience!

This is the 16th in a series of largely demographic interviews that are conducted with established residents, to find out more about them and their involvement with Second Life, and to contrast the differences between their views and experiences and those of the newer residents. The questions may be tailored slightly for each interview; responses may be edited for purposes of clarity.

I bumped into Olmia while I was doing some photography at the ABC Island sandbox tower. She was fun to talk to, and I was able to talk her into telling us a bit more about herself.

There's a lot of shoddy reporting out there, and I'm thinking it was high time we rounded some of it up and laughed at it (as it deserves) or simply slap our foreheads in dismay (as much of it engenders). There's a couple howlers out there at the moment, and it's time to put up the white sheet and shoot them.

One of the ones that's really making some waves right now is from news.com.au. It is, what Second Life users would generally describe as a steaming pile of Shirky. It's really that outrageous.

ABC Island manager, Abi Goldflake has endeavored to set the record straight about the problem with ABC Island last month. It was, as we reported a server problem, and not vandalism (as was widely reported through the media).

Granted, we initially went with griefed, because that's what the mainstream media said, but it only took a short investigation to get to the bottom of things, and we acknowledged it for what it was: a server issue. Nobody else picked up on that though. Vandalism is ever so much more juicy, isn't it?

What do sim Albion, ABC Island and Camp Kawabata have in common? They all lost approximately half (or at least that is the term people are using) of their content suddenly in the last several days.

Mars Japanese Gardens in Albion, as they look today.

In Albion, most of the builds are missing, and some are just remnants. Some walls and furniture standing with other structures absent. The content vanished on or about the 19th, and is not replaceable. It features the famous Mars Japanese Gardens which we featured previously.

If you're an Australian, you know the ABC's (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) program, Four Corners. You probably nod and look thoughtful thinking of the in-depth coverage of important and sensitive issues covered by this long-running Australian icon.

If you're anything like me, though, that's probably tempered by some cringing at the pieces by Ticky Fullerton -- to be honest, I mostly laugh, but I do rather feel sorry for the people and organisations she covers. Four Corners is airing a piece by Fullerton on Second Life this coming Monday.

Australian residents and Second Life residents who are fans of Australia have displayed a huge vote of confidence for the move by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not American) to establish a presence in Second Life. Ideas have flooded in through various means: the SLOz forum posting, the ABC friends group and directly through Abi Goldflake, the ABC's representative in Second Life. The ABC Friends group itself - created only a week or so ago for the purpose of collecting together interested Residents - now has 60 members.

Since the ABC's own team had done a substantial amount of brainstorming before the fact and with ideas from residents coming in so fast, building on ABC Island was able to commence on Sunday, 28th January. At this point, an art director has been brought on board to draw the project together. It is estimated at this point that the project will be complete within a couple of months.

The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has expressed an interest in creating a virtual space within SL. But do they have an understanding of what Second Lifers need, or of what they will be receptive to?

The ABC is Australia's non-profit public broadcaster. The ABC provides television, radio and online services to metropolitan and rural areas in Australia, as well as international services. The commercial arm of the ABC raises revenue through publishing, retailing, content sales and resource hire of media such as books, DVDs, and magazines, and actively promotes Australian music, and stages concerts and events. The ABC also maintains a limited content-sharing relationship with the BBC.