Turing test candidate - already?

IBM's Blue Gene, the world's most powerful supercomputer, will power an avatar in a virtual world such as Second Life in an attempt to pass a modified Turing test. Could AI be that close to passing a computer off as a human?!

http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206903246

Brain waves control toys, could control virtual worlds

This brain-computer interface (BCI) headset reads brain waves, measuring anxiety, attention, drowsiness, and meditation levels. The brain waves are used to control toys; these toys could help children improve focus. Eventually, video game and virtual world interaction will be controlled via brain waves.

It could even enable players to control video game characters or avatars in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/games/2007-04-29-mindreadingtoys_N.htm

Global gigabit: digital divide shrinking

Gigabit satellite internet could provide the necessary bandwidth to enable high resolution uplinks into virtual worlds from anywhere in the world, and furthermore could accelerate the viability and adoption of higher-quality virtual education for the masses. The Digital Divide is shrinking.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/23/japan.satellite/index.html

Education in Second Life

http://dusanwriter.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/education-in-second-life-students-and-the-unexpected/

Virtual Education: dissect a V-Frog

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080211215636.htm

Software Allows User To Reach Out And Touch, Virtually

Glove can replicate the sense of touch of virtual objects

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125233408.htm

Virtual reality clothing shop.

Interesting intersection of virtual reality, RFID, and smart card technology:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200708/200708240016.html

Virtual reality clothing shop.

Interesting intersection of virtual reality, RFID, and smart card technology:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200708/200708240016.html

Electric Sheep lay-offs, SL bubble bursting

http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3627922

Metaverse road map

http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/overview/

Gaming can be fatal..

i wonder if he was playing Second Life..?http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/17/internet.death.ap/index.html

Open borders sought for virtual worlds:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0944574020071010

Google testing “My World” for launch later this year

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070924-google-testing-my-world-for-launch-later-this-year.html

European officers arrested someone for stealing virtual property

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/nov/15/socialnetworking.news

Commercial brain computer systems are coming

http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=776

Using bodies to navigate virtual worlds

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21917042/

Using virtuality to do research

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19817/?a=f

C# Day in virtuality

http://blogs.msdn.com/zainnab/archive/2007/12/09/c-day-is-a-success.aspx

Online classes exploding

Education: online classes exploding: this momentum will drive virtual education

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/348198_online22.html?source=mypi

First Virtual Lab in Second Life: Digital S Lab

Along those lines...first Virtual Lab in Second Life: Digital S Lab
To "enhance the teaching of Biotechnology, Bioinformatics and Molecular Medicine." http://secondlife.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/10/digital-s-lab-opens-in-sl/