Little green avatars set their sights on festival
SECOND LIFE: Twelve million will watch parade on streets of virtual capital
The Second Life St Patrick's Day festivities
Friday March 14 2008
The massively popular internet world of Second Life (SL) is getting in on the act with their own parade.
And for the first time ever online, the St Patrick's Day parade will take to the streets of a computerised Dublin.
The event will feature 20 Irish and Celtic themed floats travelling through a virtual Dublin, while online revellers will be able to take their place for a literal bird's eye view.
A Second Life pipe and drum corps, from virtual Scotland of course, will also be playing in the parade.
Festivities include a treasure hunt around recreated landmarks like Trinity College and the Guinness Brewery.
Meanwhile the virtual cruise ship, the SS Galaxy, will visit Dublin during the festivities and host an onboard digital exhibition of Irish artists' work.
Second Life was launched in 2003 but its popularity rocketted in 2006. The game currently has over 12.8 million users, described as residents.
The parade, which will take to the computerised streets on Sunday, has been organised by Tourism Ireland who hope to entice some of the virtual residents of the site to visit Dublin for real. Mark Henry, Central Marketing Director of Tourism Ireland will be represented at the Second Life Dublin parade by his online avatar. Meanwhile the real Mr Henry will be present at events in New York.
"We are very excited about the world's first virtual St Patrick's Day parade -- it's an innovative and interesting way to present the island of Ireland as an attractive holiday destination to a new audience," he said.
"Once they have experienced the simulated Ireland, we hope these potential visitors will come and see the real thing," he added.
Residents on Second Life are already being urged to buy green outfits for their avatars.
The move to hold a Second Life parade reflects a growing trend to advertise tourist destinations online, Tourism Ireland has doubled its digital marketing spend over the past three years.
