Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, today announced its new Gold Solution Provider Program. A first for the virtual worlds industry, the new program is designed to identify highly qualified firms that offer services and develop content for enterprises, governments, educational institutions and individuals in Second Life. Second Life has a large Solution Provider community that includes more than 250 firms around the globe, with varying areas of specialization and experience. Following a thorough application and vetting process, 31 Second Life Solution Providers have today been accepted into the new Gold Program. These firms, roughly half of which are based outside of the United States, are recognized as particularly well qualified for enterprises or educational institutions planning immersive work or learning environments in Second Life.

Today, many large global organizations and educational institutions, such as Adobe, BT, Xerox, Michelin and Imperial College London, are creating custom immersive workspaces and applications in Second Life that increase productivity, creativity and innovation while cutting the costs and ecological impact of travel. Additionally, many organizations are using Second Life to provide unique opportunities to engage with their brands, raise awareness of and money for charitable causes, experience works of art that may not otherwise be accessible and more. Many organizations turn to members of Linden Lab’s Solution Provider Program to help them get started and achieve their objectives in the virtual world.

Linden Lab’s Solution Provider Program is unique to the virtual worlds industry, with more than 250 organizations and individuals around the globe providing a wide range of consulting, design and building services in Second Life. Firms in the program help organizations new to Second Life get started by providing services that can range from developing environments, producing events and conferences and marketing to Second Life communities. Linden Lab has today accepted 31 Solution Providers from the US, the UK, Europe and Asia into the new Gold Solution Provider Program, confirming these firms as being particularly well qualified.

"Innovative enterprises, military organizations, government agencies and educational institutions are actively using virtual worlds for distance learning, training and simulation," said Tom Hale, Chief Product Officer at Linden Lab. "The Gold Solution Provider Program makes it easy to find experienced partners that can deliver high-quality experiences for a wide range of Second Life projects."

The following firms have been accepted into Linden Lab’s Gold Solution Provider Program:

• A&D Consultants (Italy)
• Avatrian, LLC (US)
• Beta Technologies (US/Portugal)
• Bokowsky + Laymann GmbH (Germany)
• Chant Newall Development Group LLC/FutureWork Institute (US)
• Clarity International (Italy/UK)
• Community Chest (France)
• Corporation Pop (UK)
• Cranial Tap, Inc. (US)
• Daden Limited (UK)
• depo USA, LLC (US/UK)
• Designing Digitally, Inc. (US)
• Firesabre Consulting (US)
• Gronstedt Group (US)
• Hermes-PPMM (UK/Netherlands)
• Ill Clan Animation Studios (US)
• Indusgeeks Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (India)
• Involve, Inc. (US)
• ISN Virtual Worlds (Italy)
• MadeVirtual Ltd. (UK)
• Metabirds Co., Ltd. (Japan)
• Moderne Interactive (US)
• New Business Horizons Ltd (UK)
• Popcha! (US)
• Siterma VWP (US)
• Stonfield InWorld (France)
• The Magicians (US)
• virtual-e Ltd (UK)
• Virtualis Center/Corporation Planners Unlimited (US)
• VirtualMind (formerly SecondMind) (Spain)
• Youin3D GmbH (Germany)

For more information about the Gold Solution Provider Program, and to find information on each Gold Member and more than 250 Second Life Solution Providers, please visit the directory at: http://solutionsproviders.secondlife.com

Linden Lab will be accepting and reviewing applications for the Gold Solution Provider Program on an ongoing basis, and will admit new members to the program quarterly. For more information on the program, Solution Providers should write to sldevelopers@lists.lindenlab.com

About Bokowsky + Laymann
Bokowsky + Laymann has been busy creating virtual environments for companies and organisations since the beginning of 2006. Besides marketing, the areas of higher and further education have become increasingly important. Linking classic web-based tools and collaboration in the internal communication of multinational companies promises interesting future prospects. We are looking back on a successful 10-years history in the Internet industry.

About Second Life
Developed and launched by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is the world's leading 3D virtual world environment. It enables its users - known as Residents - to create content, interact with others, launch businesses, collaborate and educate. With a thriving inworld economy that saw over $360 million USD transacted in 2008, and a broad user base that includes everyone from consumers and educators to medical researchers and large enterprises, Second Life has become one of the largest hubs of user-generated content (UGC) in the world. Linden Lab, founded in 1999 by Chairman of the Board Philip Rosedale and headquartered in San Francisco, develops revolutionary, immersive technologies that change the way people communicate, interact, learn and create. Privately held and profitable, Linden Lab is led by CEO Mark Kingdon, and has more than 300 employees spread across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Second Life and Linden Lab are trademarks of Linden Research, Inc.

Contact:
Bokowsky + Laymann GmbH
Friedrichstraße 1
D-80801 München
secondlife@bokowsky.de
http://secondlife.bokowsky.net

Phone: +49 (0) 89 / 33 00 869-5
Fax: +49 (0) 89 / 33 00 869-9

Second Life:
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IM Marissa Bergbahn