Second Life planned for Phil

Sep 6 2007 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

Click here to watch the virtual Phil come to life

MORE than 1,000 people have signed up for a chance to attend a “virtual” internet performance by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Last month, the Daily Post revealed the Phil was preparing to become the first professional orchestra to perform in a cult online world called Second Life, which has almost 9m “inhabitants”.

Yesterday, officials at the Hope Street venue revealed they had also signed up a virtual cable television company to broadcast the concert live into the virtual “homes” of people using the website.

A video featuring a tour of the Phil’s real and online concert halls has also been released on the internet.

The opening concert of this year’s season featuring the works of Liverpool musicians John McCabe and Kenneth Hesketh will be screened to 120 people in Second Life, on Friday, September 14.

So far, 1,000 have entered the competition to win tickets, through Second Life and the Phil’s own website.

Second Life describes itself as a virtual 3-D world “entirely built and owned by its residents”, which allows users to “live” a second life where they can socialise and trade online.

Millicent Jones, executive director of marketing and communications at the Phil, said the winners of the online competition for free tickets would be notified on Monday, September 10.

“The interest has been tremendous. People from all over the world have registered for tickets, people from Canada, Australia, Japan, Holland,” she said.

The Phil had also been contacted by news organisations across the globe interested in the venture. “We had a cable television channel contact us, and they are going to broadcast the concert to people in Second Life,” said Ms Jones.

Second Life Cable TV will also broadcast the concert on big screens at various locations in the online world.

The Phil will also host daily re-screenings of the concert from September 15 in its virtual hall.

The concert is an experiment for the venue and, if successful, there could be more in future.

The Phil has spent about £1,600 buying two “islands” in Second Life where designers created the replica of the concert hall for the online world. An avatar (a 3-D virtual representation) of Vasily Petrenko, the RLPO’s principal conductor, will be in the virtual grand foyer of the Phil to mingle with online concert-goers after the performance.

Second Life opened to the public in 2003 and now has almost 9m users.

Property and goods are traded online for “linden” which can be converted into real US dollars at a rate of 270 linden per dollar.

San Francisco-based Linden Lab created the world and offers a free basic avatar, but everything else costs money.

A 16-acre virtual island costs $1,675, plus monthly maintenance fees of $295.

Second Life has become so popular that companies such as BMW, Reebok and Sony have bought “land” and opened premises there.

* SEE what the Phil will look like in Second Life: click here to watch the virtual Phil come to life 

davidbartlett@dailypost.co.uk