A well-organized museum of historically significant artwork from around the world, representing different cultures and religions. The museum is carefully divided into topical areas with beautiful reproductions of many types of art. The descriptions are text-driven which calls for good reading skills and some degree of patience; not for young students, it's probably best for postsecondary students studying world religions or art history. There are 45 slide shows available to the user.

Controversial. Scary. Effective. A young woman is using SL to allow users to experience a virtual imprisonment in Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. She focuses on a former prisoner, a British national, whose father reads letters from his son while he was imprisoned. The project is called "Gone Gitmo" and presents the idea that such imprisonment is unconstitutional. Avatars experience realistic recreations of camp "cells" and questions are raised about the suspension of Habeas Corpus rights. Whether one finds this appealing or appalling, it certainly evokes emotion and demonstrates the power of virtual worlds as a learning environment.

This site has a lot to look at; Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, etc. supposedly reproduced from the early 1900's. Some of the details are wonderful, but educationally the most value might be in a language class visiting this place to read all of the signs and directions. I can envision a second-semester or second-year French class coming here with an assignment to translate the signs and posters. It would be a bit of an adventure to find them and discover what they are describing. I do not speak French, but I enjoyed riding the streetcar and watching a real-life old movie in the Cinematographe (theater?).

This is a faithful reproduction of the Spanish-built presidio in Santa Barbara from 1786, created by a grad student named Shelly Long from Cal State Northridge. The buildings are beautifully done, but the rooms are mostly empty. It is worth the trip to see the chapel. It's interior is very detailed including intricate artwork, wooden furniture, and lighted candles. You can even kneel at a prayer bench and recite the Lord's prayer! I picked up a free set of archaelogist's tools. Young students might enjoy this exposure to a piece of early California history, following up with internet research into the lives of the people who lived here, including their lifestyle and sustenance.

Silly me. I thought the only controversy in Second Life might be the excessive time some participants spend in world. Wrong. There is a group of users now calling themselves the Second Life Liberation Army, serious about protesting the encroachment of big companies like Sony and IBM into SL. They carry on in world protests and counsels, deliberately "griefing" other groups they resent, mostly corporate entities. They are demanding that Linden Lab (SL's creator) put an end to "corporate control" as they wish to set up their own independent, virtual government including voting rights. Linden Lab doesn't respond, assuming their activites are done tongue-in-cheek. But the movement is gaining momentum and attention. This YouTube video is a BBC news article about the controversy (and yes there are equally venemous right-wing groups). Just when you thought it was peaceful in paradise...(by the way, listen close and you'll get a chuckle out of the female newscaster's pronunciation of the word "avatar" in the introduction)