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 TECHNOLOGY
The Federation of American Scientists
Virtual Worlds Review
“Building virtual worlds for education and training”
by Surfdaddy Orca
The Seventh Sun: News from the Virtual World was honored recently to become one of two Second Life (SL)-originated virtual world discussion web sites listed by the Federation of American Scientists.
Formed in 1945 by atomic scientists from the Manhattan Project, the sixty-year-old Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is endorsed by 68 Nobel Laureates and provides annual public service awards to individuals who have “made a distinctive contribution to public policy at the intersection of science and national security.” Notables include Carl Sagan, Edward Kennedy, Herbert York, and Lester Brown.
Virtual worlds discussion sites mentioned by FAS include:
Metaversed
Mobile Avenue
MMPOW
Pacific Rim Exchange
The Seventh Sun: News from the Virtual World
Topix Virtual Worlds News
Virtually Blind: Legal Issues that Impact Virtual Worlds
Virtual World Hangouts: So Many to Choose From
Virtual Worlds News
Virtual Worlds Resources
Virtual Worlds Review
Wiki Listing on Virtual Worlds
Worlds in Motion
Why is a group of scientists, engineers with an ethical focus on the Atomic Bomb interested in virtual worlds? According to a white paper published on a recently released TWiki, FAS recognizes the potential “to revolutionize the way we learn and the way learning systems are built—and do so in a way that is immediately accessible to the growing number of people worldwide connected to the internet.”
The white paper, “Building Virtual Worlds for Education and Training” by FAS President Henry Kelly, describes the need to move ahead to find a platform “that can meet the the greatest number of this community’s requirements,” but states that there is no current obvious choice. FAS is starting a selection process by establishing a set of criteria that include:
- Graphics and Sound
- Simulations
- Interface Tools
- Performance
- System compatibility
- Security
- Installed Base
- Legal & Management Issues
- Open Source Software
- IP Rights
- Identity and Trust
- Protection Against Abuse and Offensive Behavior
The complete white paper is available online. FAS is compiling virtual worlds using a template that includes publisher, description, price, number of users, and several other fields. FAS requests help filling in the templates from users familiar with the seventy worlds listed on the facing page.
In addition to the virtual worlds themselves, FAS is compiling lists of virtual world engines and virtual world tools and software. Visit http://vworld.fas.org/bin/view to review the complete TWiki.
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