PRESS RELEASE: TOSCANA ISLAND TO START ON SECOND LIFE
Posted by Simon Lameth on March 14, 2007
Tuscany with its official website www.intoscana.it to be the first region in Italy to appear in the new virtual world
Florence, 13 March 2007 – Tuscany’s official website, the most technologically advanced project of Fondazione Sistema Toscana, inaugurates a new way of living Tuscany, of knowing its territory and beauties: Tuscany is now born on Second Life, the well-known virtual world already populated by more than 4 million and a half “residents”.
The island on Second Life was activated some days ago and the works of construction of a virtual Tuscany are almost finished. The national press agency Reuters already has its main office and an “embedded” journalist working as an informative link between the two worlds, Microsoft has chosen Second Life to launch its new operative system Vista, and the Swedish government has announced that soon it will open a virtual embassy. But what will Second Life “residents” find on Toscana island?
Virtual Tuscany will host a meeting space for emphasizing the social aspects of the new world, a virtual square containing the most significant and characterizing monuments of Tuscany’s beautiful cities of art. It will be possible to take a walk, to chat, meet at the Duomo in Florence, at the Tower of Pisa, at Piazza del Campo, or at the Piazza Grande, as well as on the Ponte Vecchio or in other places which will be added with time. One will have the feeling of plunging in an ideal city created around the most precious works of art of the ten Tuscan provinces. There will be audio comments in 5 languages for each monument for anyone interested in deepening his knowledge on what he sees.
Even a typical Tuscan “borgo” is now being recreated in the center of a land of hills, cypresses, vineyards, and olive trees, thus reproducing on Second Life the Chiantishire and the famous Sienese hills. The project won’t end here. Soon a real department store will open on Second Life which will allow residents to buy products from the intoscana shop (www.intoscana.it/shop), and buy Tuscan specialities directly from the virtual shelves to have them delivered at home in real life.
On Friday 30 March a “mixed-reality” evening will be organized for presenting Toscana island. For the occasion, a “hybrid” event between the two worlds will be set up: a virtual disco will be screened on real screens and the real world will be screened live on Second Life. Check the project’s progress on www.intoscana.it/secondlife.
