Quenching My Virtual Thirst with Project Freewheel

Many of you have probably not heard of Second Life. Many of you are probably saying to yourself: "I hardly have time for my first life let alone a second life." Second Life is a combination of a simulation game and social network. Many people think of it as a multiplayer version of the game "The Sims." Second Life is played by creating an avatar, a virtual representation of yourself. The game was created by Linden Labs.

Scott Sheppard as Scott Achterbahn

You then navigate that avatar through a virtual world and interact with other virtual characters. Second Life adds a wrinkle to the mix in that the virtual world includes Linden dollars that are earned and spent. There is a relationship between Linden dollars and real dollars. People can actually make money playing this game. This has definitely caught the eye of marketing departments of many industries. As a result, businesses are set up in Second Life. For example, it is possible to buy and sell real estate.

is launching a contest for a virtual Coke machine that will be used in Second Life. The contest invites users to design a Coke dispensing machine for use in Second Life, meaning the possibilities are limited only by their imaginations. Since Second Life is a virtual world, participants do not have to create the machine themselves - just provide the design. Submissions are being accepted directly through the Coca Cola Virtual Thirst page. A design can be implemented within Second Life even though real life constraints would make it impossible.

Second Life enthusiasts who are also Autodesk Inventor users may have a leg up on their non-Inventor avatar friends. They can use Autodesk Inventor to model the Coke machine, publish a 3D DWF file, and then use Project Freewheel to render it in Second Life.

Some people believe Second Life will change the way the internet works. I am not sure about that, but the combination of Autodesk Inventor, DWF, Project Freewheel, and their integrations into other applications just might. Thinking about mashups is something that is alive in the lab.