Maldives Opens World’s First Virtual Embassy
By Will Jordan in Male'
May 22, 2007
The Maldives has become the first country in the world to open a Virtual Embassy in Second Life, the online virtual world.
Second Life (SL) is a fast-growing virtual community with more than six million “citizens.” It has its own currency, the Linden Dollar, which can be exchanged for US dollars. SL citizens own property, socialize, learn and interact in SL.
The Maldives Virtual Embassy is located in the Diplomatic Quarter of Diplomacy Island in Second Life, an on-line space designed to allow new avenues for diplomatic representation and negotiation, especially for small and developing countries that have limited diplomatic outreach in the “real” world.
The embassy building features a notice board with detail on “democratic and human rights reform” in the country. “The Maldives is a small country but that does not mean we do not have a valuable contribution to make in international affairs,” said Abdulla Shahid, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
“The Virtual Embassy offers another channel for us to provide information on the country, to offer our viewpoint on issues of international concern, and to interact with our partners in the international community,” he said.
Diplomacy Island is the brainchild of Diplo Foundation, a nonprofit organisation which works to assist developing countries participate meaningfully in international affairs.
The official inauguration ceremony took place simultaneously in the real world (Geneva) and in the virtual world (Second Life), with participants in both “place” and “space” able to watch the speeches, interact with each other, and explore the Maldives Embassy and the rest of Diplomacy Island.
The Maldives Virtual Embassy will soon be followed by embassies representing Macedonia and the Philippines. Sweden has also announced plans to open a Virtual Embassy.
from Second Life:
WHAT IS DIPLOMACY ISLAND?
Diplomacy Island is the next step in over a decade of research and development in the field of Virtual Diplomacy. Through Second Life, Diplo will explore new possibilities for diplomatic representation and negotiation. Diplomacy Island will be another channel for Diplo’s main mission to assist small and developing countries to participate meaningfully in international relations. Diplomacy Island includes the following “neighbourhoods”:
The Diplomatic Quarter will host Virtual Embassies. Along with the Virtual Embassy of Maldives, which will be inaugurated on 22 May, several other embassies are under construction including embassies of Malta, Philippines and Macedonia.
The Virtual Diplomatic Academy will host sessions and panels related to modern diplomacy and themes such as environmental diplomacy, energy diplomacy and cyber-diplomacy.
The Virtual Diplomatic Museum will be more than a typical museum. Its main function will be to highlight the relevance of diplomacy to modern society, as opposed to the use of force. The Museum will present historical examples of the success of diplomacy. Visitors will have a chance to communicate “across time” with famous diplomats from the past including Talleyrand and Metternich.
The Internet Governance Village will host panels, round table discussions and conferences on two sets of issues. First, of direct interest for Second Life citizens, the IG village will host discussions on privacy, security, digital identity and taxation in cyber-space. Second, the IG Village will promote discussions on Internet issues and developing countries, mainly on how to bridge the digital divide.
whoa maldives !!! ultimate destination! gotta go soon
ReplyDeletei got a second life account but i never realy gotten around to building my character. i got hooked with the sims once. as in hoooked.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought of getting a second life character, is it complicated to build one? yep, better go to Maldives soon before it sinks under Global Warming. During the last tsunami, I heard the entire country I think was submerged in water.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me by the way of a question on CNN, what if in the future entire countries would be located on cyberspace or something of that kind.
ReplyDeletenot that complicated, just tedious. and it'll gobble up your time. hehe
ReplyDeletei actually have an active SL character. somebody's using it for me though. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of bringing diplomacy to the Internet because that effectively makes it more accessible to everyone (especially those who are glued to their gaming seats whole day! haha)
Love it.
Who's gonna be the Philippine Ambassador to SL when our embassy opens?
ReplyDeleteYeah that will be interesting. Is it going to be a hardcore SL player from the Philippines? :)
ReplyDeleteI suppose Id quit my full time job hehehe if it gobbles my time so much. He he. Maybe I get a job in SL??? hehehe
ReplyDeletethere actually are people who became real life millionaires just by doing business in second life, selling real estate, furnitures, clothes. they have their own currency. sometimes i'm thinking of just not working and trying my luck out in second life, who knows i might earn my first million dollars there. haha.
ReplyDeletethere actually are people who became real life millionaires just by doing business in second life, selling real estate, furnitures, clothes. they have their own currency. sometimes i'm thinking of just not working and trying my luck out in second life, who knows i might earn my first million dollars there. haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd also bringing Foreign Service to our countrymen who lives far from the nearest Philippine Consulate or Embassy. Now people coming to the country (those who are not included in the 21 day Visa Free stay) wont probably need to go all the way to another country just to have their Visa applications processed. I have similar situations before, people coming in from Kazakhstan (nearest Ph Embassy is in Moscow) and Tajikistan (nearest is in Islamabad).
ReplyDeleteDoc, i am good with Foreign relations. He he he he.
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting, how do they sell there? Hmm, I might do a bit of research and post it here.
ReplyDeletemy friend earns about 2K USD a month just selling her Victorian themed gown designs :-)
ReplyDeletewhoaa!!!!!!!! am in am in hehehe.
ReplyDeleteNo F^ck!!!!??
ReplyDeletehmmm maybe we should figure a way to make money over SL then, this life sucks as it is. Hehehe.
ReplyDeleteexactly the reason why my friend quit her job and devote her time designing virtual gowns instead!
ReplyDeletetsk tsk.. now you made me really think deep. :D
ReplyDelete*think*
ReplyDelete