Virtual Designers Busy in Online Worlds

By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When Toyota Motor Corp. wanted to promote its new Scions to young buyers, it turned to one of the growing number of digital design companies doing business in the popular online universe "Second Life."

The firm, Millions of Us, conjured up Scion City - a futuristic urban island with a dealership that sells the cars and a racetrack where consumers' online personas can take them for virtual test drives.

"The goal is to build a community in 'Second Life' that is really engaged and really excited and really involved," said Reuben Steiger, 35, chief executive of Sausalito-based Millions of Us.

Designing attractions to capture the attention of those online visitors is becoming big business as major corporations move to establish marketing footholds in 3-D virtual worlds such as "Second Life," which was founded in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab.

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Since launching in July, Millions of Us has done projects for General Motors Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Warner Bros. Records, Microsoft Corp., 20th Century Fox, Intel Corp. and rapper Jay-Z, among others. Other major companies that have established a presence in "Second Life" include IBM Corp., Dell Inc., CNet Networks Inc. and Adidas AG.

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Ah Secondlife...