'Avatars' offer virtual participation at climate summit
A virtual image of Nusa Dua, Bali
More than 10,000 people are in Bali thrashing out action on global warming, but those who couldn't make it in person are here virtually -- some in the form of dragons and action heroes. Hoping to widen the debate and cut down on carbon emissions from air travel, Oneworld.net, a left-leaning website, has taken the UN conference here on climate change to the online virtual world Second Life. The website has brought together everyone from a US congressman, who travelled virtually as a 3-D animation, to anonymous participants hailing from Japan to Turkmenistan and Romania. Second Life, which has drawn millions of users since it was created in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Labs, is a fantasy land in which users mingle under assumed identities as "avatars." While most delegates in Bali opt for formal attire, users of the site, www.oneclimate.net, pick the virtual likeness of their choice -- ranging from purple hair to outfits befitting action heroes. The mostly anonymous avatars type in questions and comments at a virtual arena in a daily webcast featuring real-world officials and experts. "I admit I was a bit of a cynic at first about these avatars. I just found it totally bizarre," said Danny Nelson, 64, a former British journalist who conducts the interviews for the webcast. "But then I saw the results. This has the potential to bring in all sorts of people who never would have come to Bali unless they're millionaires or in NGOs," he said. One person who used the website to get through to Bali was US Representative Edward Markey, a leading critic of President George W. Bush's energy policies which he accused of worsening global warming. "I have teleported here over the Internet, as you can see, as an avatar," Markey said as he introduced his virtual persona -- a comparatively staid animation in which he appeared in suit and tie. "I believe that I am the first member of the United States Congress to be introduced by someone with a blue dragon on her shoulder," the Massachusetts Democrat noted. Markey said he had to stay in Washington to spearhead a clean energy bill in the Democratic-controlled Congress, but wanted to get his message out in Bali where talks have deadlocked. Jeffrey Allen, part of the team of two running the virtual space from Bali, admitted technology has not yet been perfected to the point that major international conferences could be conducted purely in cyberspace.
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