Researching consumption in Second Life
The University of California, Riverside, Sloan Center for Internet Retailing will be opening a two-sim island in Second Life to study consumer behaviour in virtual worlds.
They will use this space to create a "live-work-play" environment for their subjects on one island, whilst the other will offer space for observers and interested parties. More details can be found in one of their forum posts. Whilst one has to wonder just how they will test all aspects of virtual world consumerism in such a limited space, I am sure it will be of interest to many. If you would like to know more about this project their website is available here, with blogs by author and fora.
(Via Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, UCR)
