SUNBELT SOFTWARE ISLAND — Anti-spyware and anti-virus solution provider Sunbelt Software is set to create a presence in Second Life, with its new island set to launch in early February. The opening is scheduled to coincide with the release of V2 of Sunbelt’s popular CounterSpy program and the RSA Conference in San Francisco (the pre-eminent annual trade show for information security professionals).

Stu Source, (aka Stu Sjouwerman in Real Life) founder of the U.S. division of Sunbelt Software and currently VP of marketing, views Second Life as very much on the cutting edge, and regards it as an excellent sandbox for companies such as Sunbelt to experiment with virtual-world marketing.

Source said his firm would adopt an innovative approach to branding in SL. “We are not going to plaster our name all over the place. Marketing needs to be done as per local what I call ‘ethnics.’ Otherwise you antagonize people.” Instead, ideas like offering a free spyware scan on the island are being considered. Plans are also afoot to offer direct --and potentially discounted -- sales of their software to visitors.
Source is well aware that many corporations have built islands in Second Life only to see them lay empty and unused. He is intent on ensuring that Sunbelt Software Island avoids that fate. “One needs a real community to give it sustained activity… We already have those communities, and part of them will think this is cool and move over here,” he said. The company is negotiating with Linden Labs to get access to ‘Sunbelter’ as a special last name for avatars in their community, as well as working on providing direct access into Second Life through its own Web portal.

The island has been designed and built by Beta Technologies. Source was referred to Beta by a fellow Sunbelt employee – a long-term builder in SL. The island features a distinctive design: It’s split into four micro islands within a lagoon. The micro islands are linked by a large and spectacular circular walkway at the center of the island. The lagoon was apparently a priority given that Sunbelt Software is based in Clearwater, Fla.

About half of the island is allocated to ‘public’ facilities. A community center has been built to facilitate casual chat and general get-togethers for the techie population. An auditorium has also been constructed to host regular discussion and lecture events. Additionally, a separate ‘product awareness’ island has been developed. The idea behind it is to familiarize visitors with common spyware and virus issues, and the best ways and products to combat them.

Aside from this public dimension, the island will also cater to Sunbelt Software's business-to-business sector. A ‘partner pavilion’ has been constructed for Sunbelt reps to liaise with resellers, OEM partners, and clients. A main office, modeled on their real world building, has been built for Sunbelt employees to meet and exchange ideas.

Sunbelt Software's entrance may have some very positive consequences from a developmental perspective. Source said Sunbelt was interested in helping to prevent hack attacks such as those that had beset SL of late. The recent open sourcing of the SL client has made such collaboration simpler. “We've already seen some proof of concept by a White Hat Hacker that show some holes in the SL client…we’d like to help in some way,” he said. For those not acquainted with IT security jargon, the term ‘white hat hacker’ refers to a sort of ethical hacker who finds security flaws in programs in order to help the admins secure them against black hat hackers with malicious intent.

Sunbelt’s corporate slogan is "we keep the bad guys out." It would be fascinating to see them play a role in helping to keep the bad guys out of Second Life.