SUNSET BEACH -- Two virtual content creators launched big projects within Second Life today.
Portugal- based-Beta Technologies, run by Eggy Lippmann and Gwyneth Llewelyn held a Real Life and Second Life launch party for Danish investment bank, Saxo Bank, while California-based Millions of Us showcased HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival which is going on this week in Aspen, Colorado.

The HBO launch was emceed by comedian Hyla Mathy (Hyla Matthews in Real Life), an anchor on HBO's tongue-in-cheek Internet news show, "This Just In" (www.thisjustin.com)
Mathy opened the show with some jokes about being an avatar in Second Life and warmed up the audience by chatting to them as if they were at a live stand up comedy show. Matthews' audio bits were interwoven between clips from her show.

Millions of Us contractor Versu Richelieu built much of the HBO build, which consisted of a lodge set among snowy Aspen trees. The lodge had three domes, a wood deck with open flame for roasting marshmallows and keeping warm, and an "HBO" ice sculpture. Inside were brick floors, wood paneled cozy banquettes, fireplaces, a bar and stage with modern spotlights.

The project manager for the build, Eliana Millionsofus, explained, "We wanted to create a build that made sense for our client HBO - something modern and eye-catching. We wanted to incorporate elements that remind us of a comedy house, but incorporate those elements in a modern structure. We were inspired by the comedian's greatest tool - the microphone. That is where the idea for a domed architecture came from," she said.

Earlier in the day, Beta Technologies held a party for the Saxo Bank on the sim Wall Street. Beta Technology builders including Moon Adamant, Washu Zebrastripe, Damien Fate, and SignpostMarv Martin contributed to the three-story headquarters, which sported a trading floor, roof deck, and offices that looked out onto an erupting volcano. In the building, visitors can click on information about SaxTrader, an Internet-based online trading platform, and other Saxo products.

At the same time more than 200 real life guests and Saxo Bank employees celebrated the opening at a party at the Copenhagen offices. They danced as they watched the Second Life party on a large screen, which developer Roland Jenns described "as tall as a house." Meanwhile, Hostess Helena Kirkorian threw a confetti party at the virtual build at the sim Wall Street.

Jeffrey Limpele, executive director of quantitative analysis at Saxo Bank, said that the bank ultimately plans to offer "leveraged Forex trading on the lindens." He added. "We want to give you access from Second Life to your Real Life foreign exchange."

Limpele sat in the lobby of the bank during the revelry, answering questions about why the bank decided to have a presence in SL. "Things such as the time value of money, lending, as development of currency beyond a micropayment system are all interesting signs of an emergent economy."

The bank, which has branches in Denmark, London, Singapore, and Marbella, Spain, also offers trading in stocks and futures.