Second Life at Labour conference

Second Life, the virtual reality-based online game, made its first appearance at the Labour Party conference today with a virtual meeting between politicians and surfers.

The fringe event, a political first for the Labour Party, was hosted by Microsoft and the Social Market Foundation, a policy think-tank.

Participants were able to drop in on the meeting between Minister Tom Watson, the first MP blogger, members of the business community and party delegates at the party conference in Manchester.

It was the first time in the UK an event at a political conference has been run simultaneously in Second Life.

Backers of the Second Life conference said that it was a more 'inclusive' way of conducting politics, as party conferences are normally held in secure zones.

"We are delighted to be the first ever political organisation to open up our event in Second Life," said Dorothea Hodge, of the Social Market Foundation.

"Running a discussion in this format allows us to include people who cannot travel to Manchester, or who were not able to get a pass into the conference centre," Hodge continued.

Politicians in the US are generally seen to be more embracing of digital democracy and use online conference meetings and social networking to reach those in the electorate who are more inclined to get their news from online media.

www.secondlife.com
www.labour.org.uk/conference