Vodafone to launch mobile service on Second Life

Vodafone is to launch mobile telephony on virtual world Second Life that also connects to the real world.

David Erixon, director of brand strategy and manifestation at Vodafone, made the announcement today (Thursday) at the Marketing Week Interactive Conference.

The mobile giant has had a presence in Second Life since late last year. However, it is to ramp up its strategy in the virtual world by launching handsets that will allow Second Life residents to call each other from island to island – and most significantly connect with the real world using voice over internet protocol. It is not known how much the company will charge to make the calls.

The move is a huge step for a global brand and is a sign that companies are keen to encourage convergence between the virtual and real worlds as they seek to connect with consumers.

Second Life, created by Linden Labs, boasts 2.36 million residents, but only a third have logged onto the virtual game in the past two months and 25,000 are logged on simultaneously.