The Maldives has become the first country to open an embassy in Second Life, an internet-based three-dimensional virtual world inhabited by more than 6.6 million “residents” from around the globe.

The tiny island nation with a population of 300,000 opened its virtual mission on Tuesday, just ahead of Sweden, which had hoped its embassy would be Second Life’s first when it opens on May 30.

Malta, Macedonia and the Philippines are also planning to open virtual missions in Second Life. The virtual world was set up by an American technology company in 2003 and rose to international prominence last year.

The Maldives’ embassy will be located on Second Life’s “Diplomacy Island”, where visitors will be able to talk face-to-face with a computer-gener-ated ambassador about visas, trade and other issues.

The idea may seem farfetched for a country that is made up of 1,192 islets, only about 200 of which are inhabited, and best known as a beach paradise for honeymooners and well-heeled tourists.

According to the latest available statistics, it had only 19,000 internet users in 2005.

But the Government of the Maldives, which has been criticised in the West for suppressing political opposition, says it is a serious attempt to raise its international profile and conduct diplomatic exchanges on a more equal footing.

Second Life opens up “new avenues for diplomatic representation and negotiation, especially for small and developing countries that have limited diplomatic outreach in the real world”, the Maldives Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Abdulla Shahid, the Foreign Minister, said: “The Maldives is a small country but that does not mean we do not have a valuable contribution to make in international affairs.” He continued: “The virtual embassy offers another channel for us to provide information on the country, to offer our viewpoint on issues of international concern and to interact with our partners in the international community.”

Diplomacy Island is the brainchild of the Malta-based Diplo Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that works to assist developing countries participate meaningfully in international affairs.

It will feature a virtual diplomatic academy that will host discussions relating to modern diplomacy and a virtual diplomatic museum that will high-light the relevance of diplomacy in the modern world.

It will also include an internet governance village that will host conferences on privacy, security, digital identity and taxation in cyber-space, and on how to bridge the digital divide.

Second Life was created by Linden Lab, a San Francisco-based technology company, in 2003 and started out with 64 acres of virtual land, which was sold to its “residents” using Linden dollars, a virtual currency exchangeable for US dollars.

It has since attracted real-world institutions, including Toyota, Nike, General Motors, media outlets such as Reuters and the BBC and universities.

Virtually real

Lindex, the currency exchange site for Second Life, lists the official exchange rate at 268.73 Linden dollars (L$) to the US dollar. Transactions may be made with a credit card

In January US$5 million was spent in an estimated 4.2 million transactions within the game

FBI agents adopted virtual personas, or avatars, to visit casinos run within Second Life as part of a crack down on online gambling

In 2006 Harvard Law School introduced a course in which some classes are held in a virtual classroom in Second Life

Reuters opened a news agency within Second Life in 2006. The bureau is staffed by reporter Adam Pasick, and modelled on the agency’s London and New York offices

Adidas has an outlet in Second Life, selling a range of over 24 “real” shoe models translated into the virtual realm. They sell at around L$50

Toyota has a dealership on Second Life and sells virtual cars for L$300

Sources: blogs.law.harvard.edu; secondlife.reuters.com; secondlife.com; blog.secondlife.com; Times research