Google looking to take on Second Life?

Linden Lab’s hugely popular online virtual world and social playground Second Life could soon be facing some stiff competition from search engine giant Google Inc. if today’s rumours are to be believed. Rumours are suggesting that online search specialist Google is developing a 3D virtual world experience built on its Google Earth application that could challenge Linden Lab's Second Life. REUTERS/Linden Research, Inc./Handout

Rumours are suggesting that online search specialist Google is developing a 3D virtual world experience built on its Google Earth application that could challenge Linden Lab's Second Life. REUTERS/Linden Research, Inc./HandoutMore pointedly, students at Arizona State University are reportedly testing a new online virtual world developed by Google that will be "publicly launched later this year," and is supposedly based on the search engine’s sprawling satellite imagery application Google Earth.While no concrete information has been offered up by Google in terms of official confirmation, the Times Online reports that the university has revealed the project is being developed by a "major internet company." The university has also offered "hints" that the resultant product will contain 3D modelling and videogame aspects, both of which would help define a virtual world.The likelihood of Google Inc. launching its own Google Earth-inspired virtual world is bolstered somewhat by an existing quote from Benchmark Capital partner Michael Eisenberg, who wrote on his ‘Six Kids and a Full Time Job’ blog in January of this year that he’d heard "Google is working on turning Google Earth into a virtual world a la Second Life."And the established links between Google and Arizona State University could also be seen by some as a further indication that the search engine specialist is indeed working on a socially driven 3D representation of the entire planet. Arizona State University has already been associated with Google as one of the first higher education establishments to use Google Apps.Other clues to the eventual make-up of Google’s mystery project include its recently launched ‘SketchUp’ application, which is a 3D modelling tool that enables users to craft three dimensional layers atop of Google Earth’s map content. Similarly, Second Life includes modelling tools that allow users to create their own in-world items, which can be traded amongst ‘avatars’ in return for the Linden Dollar and is redeemable for real-world money.This latest twist in potential rivalry for Second Life follows on from Sony Computer Entertainment’s ‘Home’ project, which is due to arrive in the first quarter of 2008 exclusively for the PlayStation 3 console.Linden Lab’s Second Life was launched in 2003 and currently boasts some nine million registered users.