The iSummit '08 in Sapporo was complemented by a parallel series of events in Second Life on Japan Sapporo island. Following on the success of the Second Life edition of the iSummit '07, the 2008 edition of the event strengthened its presence with the development of an entire island dedicated to the city of Sapporo, representing its culture and values, and giving breathing space to the residents who want to get involved with the conference. If you would like to visit Japan Sapporo island, the venue of the iSummit events in Second Life, click on the following slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japan%20Sapporo/128/160/22/.

The iSummit '08 in Second Life was coordinated by David Orban, aka Davidorban Agnon, a long term resident, and virtual worlds visionary. "Free culture can flourish in online worlds, where digital expression finds a home in a social, and collaborative environment, which reverberates with true human emotion," said David Orban during the preparations for the iSummit '08. "To celebrate the iSummit, we will launch a contest among Second Life residents to build a dynamic, interactive three-dimensional version of the iSummit logo, one which will best represent the iSummit's values in the online worlds," he added.

The highlights of the iSummit '08 in Second Life was the streaming of the keynote speeches from Sapporo, and the delivery of Jimmy Wales' keynote within Second Life, transmitted simultaneously to the live physical audience as well. Video footage of the keynotes will be released on the official summit website during the month of September.


The iSummit in Second Life was also opened with an inaugural concert by Eddie Santillo, aka EddieGuitar Dagger on Japan Sapporo island in Second Life, before the keynote speeches. At his concert, Eddie announced the release of his song "Il volo" ("The Flight"), chosen by his fans from the album "I racconti del marianio Appleford" ("Tales of Appeford, the sailor"), under a liberal Creative Commons Attribution license. This license enables the free, and legal copying, and remixing of the song, as long as attribution is given to Eddie Santillo, the original composer. Those interested in the song, or in creating derivative works can find "Il volo" on the Archive.org permanent archival site. Read more here.

Photos: Heather Ford's keynote in Second Life, by , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 , Eddie Guitar performace, by , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 and Second Life vs. Real Life, by , CC BY-SA 2.0