Virtual STA - Second Life Travel Agency

STA Travel in Second Life

STA Travel is among the largest travel agencies in the world with a focus on student, mostly university, travel. This week, STA became one of the first travel agencies to set up business, or sorts, in Second Life. STA's island in second life will offer:

1. Dedicated Portal and Orientation Island where students can join Second Life and easily and quickly learn how to navigate the virtual world.
2. Virtual Dorms that students can customize and use for private meetings and get-togethers.
3. Virtual Travel Destinations where students can experience Mayan Ruins, an Asian Temple and a French Cafe.
4. STA Travel Main Office where students can get travel and destination information.
5. Live Weekly Events and Tours produced by STA Travel as well as numerous travel partners.
6. Sandbox where students can practice building their own virtual environment.

Not all of these are ready now, but will be soon., and I would imagine that more will be developed in the future as STA, along with other travel providers, continue to experiment with virtual travel.

Google Goes Back to Pre-Katrina Maps

Google Goes Back to Pre-Katrina Maps - WashingtonPost.com

"NEW ORLEANS -- Google's popular map portal has replaced post-Hurricane Katrina satellite imagery with pictures taken before the storm, leaving locals feeling like they're in a time loop and even fueling suspicions of a conspiracy.

Scroll across the city and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and everything is back to normal: Marinas are filled with boats, bridges are intact and parks are filled with healthy, full-bodied trees."

"Web 2.0 - Over and Out" - or - Moves In Next Door

EarlyStageVC: Web 2.0 - Over and Out

Amid Peter Rip's (link above) dire predictions of the demise of Web 2.0, I think the emphasis should be on the mainstreaming of Web 2.0 (as evidenced by Time's Person of the Year award). And this should be good news for a travel industry that, to my mind, has a long ways to go to fully utilize the potential of the new social media.

See also the article on TechCrunch, where I first found the link above.