COMMONWEALTH ISLAND - Looking for a hot time in Second Life? Consider yourself conscious of the world around you and want to make a difference? Set your teleporter to visit Commonwealth Island for a mix of both.

Commonwealth Island is a project of the EnviroLink Network, a non-profit non-academic organization that has been building grassroots communities on the Internet since 1991. It is open to organizations working for social equity and environmental sustainability. Commonwealth Island is offered to organizations as a starting place in SL without making a big financial and time commitment.

Begun in October 2006, Commonwealth Island now houses six non-profit groups: Splash Aquatics, Greenpeace, Forces of Nature, CEN (Clean Energy Now!), the ACLU, and Code Pink. Hayduke Ebisu (Josh Knauer in real life) of EnviroLink commented, “Organizations seem to face several challenges when attempting to figure out how to utilize Second Life to further their missions: the first is how to create a space where they can be noticed and set apart from the ‘noise’ of first land. We’ve addressed that by teaming up with other public education institutions to create the Info Island Archipelago (of which Commonwealth is one sim). We think this is the first open and public set of sims dedicated to education only… no commerce, clubs, etc. The other major challenge we have seen is how organizations can effectively communicate their missions and supporting information within Second Life to actually help educate people. We’re all learning together how we can effectively educate the public about the issues we care about in SL.”

Design of buildings on Commonwealth Island is natural and open. No doors, lots of glass and colors that complement the environment are prevalent everywhere. Organizations can organize the inside of their structure however they wish, but may not build things outside. All are encouraged to stay with the overall feel of the island. A tree house nestled in the forest is a popular informal meeting house and a quiet meditation retreat.

The “hot” theme of Commonwealth Island is taken from the caldera, a big geothermal feature. Like the hotbed of activism bubbling to the surface, geysers, hot springs and mud pots keep the island sizzling.

A virtual reality theatre can be accessed from within Commonwealth Island. This 50m x 50m x 50m cube uses Quicktime virtual reality imagery. Users can change the scenes at will. Educators use it as a place to hold classes, since images can be displayed all around the class as topics are presented. “The possibilities for this are quite limitless and really expand the quality of the immersive experience you can offer visitors in SL,” Ebisu commented.

Non-polluting hang gliders begin from a launch point at the very top of the caldera. Arrow keys and page up/page down provide controls as the gliders to swoop and slide on the wind currents. The hang gliders work across all the Info Islands so a long flight is possible if desired. Some residents find it a fun treat among all the seriousness.