Second Life, the Famous Virtual World, Available on Mobile Phones

Vollee, the US-based mobile entertainment company, announced it would bring the Second Life experience to 3G mobile phones. Beta trials of Second Life for mobiles will be open to users starting May 2008 and will be free of charge.

If you don't know what Second Life is, we'll tell you. It's a sort of a game / 3D virtual world (developed by Linden Research) entirely built by its Residents - a Resident can be any user with Internet access and a PC with decent performances. Initially launched in 2003, Second Life has now about 4 million Residents that can interact with each other like in the real life: buy and sell stuff, play games, watch movies, flirt, have sex and so on (all inside the virtual world, of course). The "game" is compatible not only with Windows (2000, XP and Vista), but with Mac OS and Linux too. And soon, thanks to Vollee, the whole experience will also be available on mobile phones.

The Second Life service for 3G handsets re-created the on-line world and adjusted it for mobiles. New users will be able to try Second Life for the first time from their phones, while existing Residents will have a way to log-in anytime, while on the go.

"What we have developed is a service which, for the first time, allows you to access a rich persistent virtual 3D world the way it is supposed to be experienced on your phone," said Martin Dunsby, CEO of Vollee. "This is a true 'before and after moment' in which mobile is living up to its potential in serving as an always on, connected platform."

"For Linden Lab, this represents an intuitive way to extend the reach and accessibility of the Second Life Grid platform," said Chris Mahoney, Business Development Manager at Linden Lab. "This is a great way for Second Life Residents to stay connected to their friends, business and experiences in-world, wherever they are."

Mobile users who want to pre-register for Second Life on mobiles should visit the Vollee website at this address. For the beginning, the service is only available in the US, but more countries will follow soon after.