Unreal. Sweden has just become the first major* country to open an embassy in Second Life.
“The embassy is now open to the public and offers a smorgasbord of impressions to anyone interested in Sweden,” said the Swedish Institute, which was behind the project. “The new embassy will employ about 100 of our country’s genetically flawless young men and women, allowing geeks and nerds to be rejected by hotties in an entirely new, virtual realm.”
Yeah, I made up the last bit. I think it is absolutely insane how much buy-in Second Life is getting. Large companies, from food/beverage to automotive, have set up elaborate shops. And now, entire nations! Granted, Second Life has close to 4.6 million users. However, only about 1.6 million have actually logged in in the last 60 days (stats from March 2007). I completely understand companies like game makers, the Sci-Fi Channel, et al being there, but Sweden?
* Maldives opened their Second Life embassy one week earlier. Frickin’ Maldives! What the hell is going on?! Of course, considering the nation will probably be entirely underwater in 50 years, it might be a good move. When chided about being beat out, a visibly pissed off Carl Bildt (Swedish Foreign Minister) responded, “They knew we were making an embassy, then quickly rushed to get theirs done first. If you want my opinion, Maldives are a bunch of atolls!” Hey-ooo! Is this thing on?
