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NMC announces parcel leases in three new educational communities in Second Life

 

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From: NMC Subscribers List [mailto:NMCSubscribers@Princeton.EDU] On Behalf Of Larry Johnson
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 9:36 PM
To: NMCSubscribers@Princeton.EDU
Subject: NMC announces parcel leases in three new educational communities in Second Life

Dear NMCers,

Are you or someone you know looking for a low-cost way to get started in virtual worlds -- or Second Life in particular?

As of today, the NMC is offering land parcels in Second Life that are part of three unique custom-designed educational communities. These parcels are available now for lease exclusively to bona fide faculty, educational departments, or learning-focused institutions.  (pictures attached!)

The land is full-permissions, and can be used for almost any purpose consistent with research or teaching in Second Life.  The parcels come in sizes from 1024 sq m to 8192 sq m.  Costs are roughly 10 US cents per sq meter per year. This works out to $100 US per year for the smallest plot (32 x 32; 1024 sq m; 235 prims) and $800 per year for the largest (64 x 128; 8192 sq m; 1875 prims).    

There are no hidden or additional costs.

Each educational community has a beautiful central area which has a number of spaces that all the residents on the island can share -- these include a multi-media amphitheatre, a conference room, a large classroom or other meeting space, a gallery suitable for exhibiting student work, and a resource center that has been stocked by the folks who run the highly regarded ICT Library in Second Life.

You can see these sims now in Second Life -- they are called Teaching, Teaching 2, and Teaching 3, and each is fully open to the public — no group memberships are required to visit.  Soon to open as well are Teaching 4, Sciences, Mathematics, Arts & Letters, and Outreach; those sims each also have "large lot" options -- parcels as large as a half-sim -- available. 

Large lot leases include basic terraforming, landscaping, subdividing, configuration, and ongoing maintenance.  The cost of the lease can even be folded into a “Special NMC Membership” package if desired, and both the lease and the membership billed on a single invoice — call for details if that is of interest.

An annual rental agreement is required for these parcels, and a copy of the lease, which is easy to read and designed to answer most questions, can be downloaded along with other useful info at http://virtualworlds.nmc.org/docs/NMC_announces_EDU_communities_in_SL.pdf (10pp, 792Kb).

 

To rent a parcel, no matter what size, simply complete the lease, indicating the size plot you wish, and fax it to the number provided in the lease, 512 445 4205 (outside the US, dial 00 1 512 445-4205).  We will invoice you or take a credit card for the annual fee.  Monthly payments can only be accepted for Large Lot rentals.

NMC Virtual Worlds offers the full span of services to support educational institutions in Second Life, and many, including the use of the NMC’s Campus in Second Life for your own events, are *free* to NMC members.  (See the attached listing of services currently offered.) 

All educational institutions enjoy significant discounts (as much as 25%) on custom development services in Second Life from NMC’s Virtual Worlds unit.  NMC members enjoy an additional 10% reduction, so many educational institutions qualify for discounts up to 35%!

Please let us know how we might be of help if you are considering a foray into the 3D web.

Larry Johnson
Chief Executive Officer

Download nmc_virtual_worlds_services.pdf