A virtual island designed for students to have fun has taken on a world of its own as a venue for live gigs, an international conference and a hub of learning for video game students.
Beat island, a virtual piece of land in the video game Second Life (SL), was designed by Preston College to be used by students on Visual and Performing Arts Courses "for fun".
But since students were taught how to use the video game, which involved creating their own characters which can talk, move around and interact with others, Beat Island has developed its own rhythm.
Media Music and Technology Curriculum Manager, Paul Flanagan, said they "wanted it to be a venue for for some of our students gigs and art work".
"We've had our island for a year, an academic year, and during that year we've done international conferences - we've afforded students an opportunity to show their work, literally, to the world with digital art spaces. And we have been able to stream music from our music students in there."
Paul said the SL Course was so popular many of the places had been filled up before the intake of new students in September.
And all of the students who applied to do computers games degrees "have been given unconditional offers based on their experience of Second Life".
He said: "It has given students a second life. In society there's all kinds of different people and not everyone is extrovert. But in Second Life it gives you that second chance to do some of the things you might not want to do in your first life."
Bob Brown, Second Life "World Builder" for Preston College, runs the Second Life courses, teaching students how "everything is possible" in SL.
He said: "Next year we are involving the students on Interior Design courses, then hopefully we will be involving Architecture and Business courses too. Paul mentioned the success with the computer games course, but we also have animators coming out and doing well."
SL first came to the fore in late 2006, after Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, realised their architectural modelling tool was being used by architects for a lot more than just walking round a virtual building.
The company then developed the tool into a free online video game with its own currency and economy, residents called "avatars" and the capacity to develop items and sell them to the SL community.
Mr Brown, a firm believer in the game's ethos of collaboration and communication, said: "It's the greatest thing since the internet. We just have to get it out there and for people to understand how important it's going to be for the next 10 years."
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