Second Places

Virtual House Offers Advice on Planning Regulations
January 12, 2009;

Pioneering technology has brought to life an interactive semi-detached house which offers internet users help and guidance on planning and building regulations.

Manchester-based Second Places, which specialises in developing presences in online virtual worlds for corporate clients, was commissioned by The Planning Portal to recreate its interactive house in Second Life, the largest virtual world on the internet.

Second Life is made up of virtual buildings, shops, schools, leisure facilities and offices which can be visited by electronic representations of the internet user, known as avatars.

The Planning Portal (www.planningportal.gov.uk) is the UK Government's online planning and building regulations resource for England and Wales, processing around 35% of UK planning applications.

It provides information about planning and building regulations and users can also apply for planning permission, find out about developments, appeal against planning decisions and research government policy.

One of the key features of the website is a 3D house which provides pop-up information on different aspects of planning consent, accessed by zooming in on areas of the house – such as windows, doors, the driveway, extensions and conservatories.

Second Places has now recreated the house within Second Life, which means visitors to the virtual world can 'walk' through the property and be guided through the planning process as they move through the different rooms.

Chris Kendall, Director for The Planning Portal, said: "The interactive house is the most popular tool on our website as it is easy to use and gives instant information on building regulations and planning permission.

"As it has proved to be so successful, it made sense to take the interaction further and explore new possiblities for reaching a different audience, such as the millions of people who use Second Life.

"We need to stay on top of new technologies and thanks to Second Places, which has recreated the house in Second Life, this will allow us to continue to develop this resource and add different functions to help visitors as the technology improves."

Vin Sumner, Managing Director of Second Places in Manchester, said: "Virtual worlds are a revolutionary new way of using the internet and it's predicted that by the end of 2011, 80% of internet users will have a 'second life' in a virtual world.

"We were delighted to be asked by The Planning Portal to build the next generation application for their existing virtual house.

"The finished house in Second Life is a close replication of the one on the website but it allows the visitor to virtually walk around the property and find information about various planning rules and regulations, making it much more interactive.

"The concept of virtual worlds is still fairly new but projects like this show the potential for organisations across lots of different sectors to use virtual worlds as an effective way of reaching their target market. When the possibilities are fully realised, we believe that having a presence in a virtual world will become as commonplace as websites."

Second Places was formed by a partnership between Fusion Unity in Aberdeen and Clicks and Links in Manchester, and now employs eight members of staff who work with around 25 clients.

As a market leader in developing innovative, interactive virtual worlds for clients, Second Places helps them make the best use of virtual technology to achieve their business objectives.

The team has worked across multiple industry sectors such as business, travel and tourism, non-profit, entertainment, private and education sectors.

It has also developed a virtual training tool for the global energy industry, which uses virtual worlds to simulate potential disasters and was recently previewed at the Virtual Worlds London event.