Vu @ Second Life∗– Creating a (virtual) Community of Learners

In this paper we report on our experiences in creating presence for our university in the Second Life environment. After a brief explanation of our motivation(s), we will describe our approach, which resulted in creating a virtual campus acting both as a portal for information, and, more importantly, as a meeting point, offering the opportunity to create a virtual community of learners, in line with the overall educational policy of our university. We will discuss the merits of Second Life as an educational platform, and indicate relevant research perspectives. To illustrate how the virtual meets the real, an impression will be given of our encounters with the press.