According to a recent press release from the Swedish Institute:
"Sweden is at an advanced stage of planning the opening of the worlds’ first official embassy in Second Life.
"The embassy, a copy of Sweden’s embassy House of Sweden, in Washington D.C., will provide visitors with information about Sweden and act as a link between the real and the virtual world. The official portal of Sweden,
http://www.sweden.se, will also be reached through the virtual embassy."
Read the complete press release from the Swedish Institute announcing the creation of a Swedish Embassy in cyberspace, in Second Life, by clicking
here.
Entertainment Technology World recently exchanged e-mails with Susanna Wallgren, a spokesperson for the Swedish Institute on matters pertaining to Sweden's virtual Second Life embassy.
The questions asked, and Ms. Wallgren's answers, are re-produced below:
1. What’s your position with the Swedish Government and what’s your relationship with this project?
The
Swedish Institute is a government agency with a mandate to tell the world about Sweden.
2. On whose initiative was this project developed?
The Swedish Institute is the initiator.
3. What exactly will you be building in Second Life?
The embassy will be a replica of the
House of Sweden, the recently opened Swedish Embassy in Washington DC, designed by the Swedish architects Wingårdh. It will serve as the Swedish Institute's beachhead in Second Life, so that we can experiment with a 3D virtual world, figuring out what the best ways are to connect to people in this new medium.
4. What are your goals for this project?
Our task is to tell the world about Sweden and we are constantly trying to find new ways to reach our target group (early-adopter progressive non-Swedes).
5. Who will be programming it?
We are hiring a seasoned Second Life developer.
6. How much will it cost?
It’s hard to say at this point. What we do know is that it will cost about the same as our other projects, aiming at putting Sweden on the map, abroad.
7. Who’s paying for it?
The Swedish Institute will be paying for it.
8. Where will it be located in Second Life? On its own island or on the “mainland”?
We don't know yet. Possibly it will be in the same region as Second Sweden and the sim recently purchased by Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan.
9. What efforts will you be undertaking inside of, and outside of, Second Life to publicize the existence of your virtual Embassy in Second Life?
We are currently discussing this.
10. Have you made estimates of how many visitors you expect to have?
That's one of the questions we'd like to find an answer to:-) I expect several hundred a day at the start.
1. What products, services, or information about Sweden or other subjects will be available at the Swedish Embassy in Second Life?
It will be a place where people can go to find out more about Sweden and the Swedes. As we get closer to the opening of the embassy, I can provide you with more info on what exactly the embassy will be able to offer.
12. Will Swedes abroad be able to use it to do consular business?
No. We’ll leave the consular affairs to the embassies in the real world
13. Will non-Swedes be able to transact any official business at the Swedish Embassy in Second Life?
No. No visas will be issued. We’ll leave the consular affairs to the embassies in the real world.
14. Will consular or other foreign ministry personnel, or Swedish elected officials, or Swedish citizens in Sweden be allowed, encouraged, or required to create avatars for themselves and do business through the Swedish Embassy in Second Life?
We will definitely encourage other Swedes to create avatars for themselves and take part in activities/create new activities in SL and be active in the embassy. We will not require of other foreign ministry personnel or elected officials to create their own avatars. It will be completely up to themselves.
15. What kind of cooperation have you had from the Swedish government?
We have permission of the foreign ministry to use the embassy and our foreign minister,
Carl Bildt, will be present at the opening ceremony.
16. Is this an experiment with a limited duration, or will you maintain the site indefinitely, depending on results?
We will maintain the site indefinitely, depending on results.
17. What impact on the global public perception of Sweden do you think this project will have?
We have already received and enormous amount of attention from mass media around the world. I think that this project definitely will strengthen the image of Sweden as the progressive country it is.
18. What is your avatar’s name and can we get an online tour of your Second Life Embassy as soon as it opens?
Definitely you will get an online tour as soon as the embassy opens. We’re aiming for the end of April. I will let you know.
20. Will the Government of Sweden be using this, or similar projects, to develop and encourage e-citizenship projects, such as e-government, e-voting, and also e-commerce with Swedish and associated EU companies? In other words, will there be a trade mission associated with the Embassy?
I can’t tell you at this point. Anything is possible!
21. Do you expect there will be glittering balls at the Embassy where avatar-ambassadors of other countries will congregate and transact business as well as recreate?
Absolutely! There will be plenty of social gatherings taking place in the embassy, for all kinds of groups.
22. What’s been the reaction to this project from the Swedish/EU media and the public in Sweden/EU?
Overwhelmingly positive. The foreign minister immediately wrote about it in
his blog, praising the initiative.
23. Do you expect and would you like to see more countries build and maintain virtual embassies in Second Life?
Yes, we have already received a lot of questions from the Stockholm-based embassies of France and Switzerland.
24. What efforts, if any, will you be making to involve Swedish writers, artists, musicians, scientists and others to develop Second Life projects of their own, coordinated through your Second Life Embassy?
We will use the embassy first and foremost to try to connect with early-adopter progressive non-Swedes, which is one of our main target groups. We will serve the Swedish community mostly by giving them heightened visibility and publicity, and hence more visitors. We also want to help develop Swedish know-how and skills in building for 3D virtual worlds, and will be hiring Swedish developers for events and interactive projects.
We will definitely try to involve Swedish writers, artists, musicians, scientists and others to develop Second Life projects of their own, coordinated through the embassy.
25. How extensive could the Swedish presence in Second Life eventually become?
I have no idea! Hopefully Sweden will be the pioneer with other countries following in our steps.
26. What system, if any, might you employ to definitively certify, register, or validate the real world identities of those who want to do serious official business with the Government of Sweden through your Second Life Embassy?
We’re currently discussing this.
27. How might that affect or enable you to implement more extensive e-government and e-commerce projects, including remote Internet voting in Second Life polling stations?
We’re currently discussing this.
One can only assume that prices for virtual land in Second Life, a cornerstone of the Linden Lab site's economic vitality, will be going up in the surrounding area once the exact location of the virtual Swedish Embassy is announced, since it will be both a source of prestige and a good business opportunity to be one of the virtual Swedish Embassy's neighbors in that computerized, on-line environment.
