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Google testing “My World” for launch later this year

Google has been rumored in the past to be dipping its toes into creating a …

Rumors of Google's plans to create a virtual world that rivals that of Second Life have popped up once again over the weekend. The company could now be collaborating with Arizona State University to test the 3D social network, which may be tied into Google's current applications of Google Earth and Google Maps.

ASU students received a questionnaire yesterday, screenshots of which were originally posted by a MacRumors forum member, that hinted strongly at Google's plans. Specifically, the questionnaire intro says that students will be able to test a product that will be publicly launched later this year by a "major Internet company," and the graphic makes reference to 3D modeling, video gaming, and avatars. It proceeds to ask questions about students' involvement with social networks like MySpace and whether they have Gmail accounts. The social network referenced by the questionnaire is currently being dubbed "My World."

As the Google Operating System blog points out, ASU has had a heavy affiliation with Google in the past: ASU was among the first to test Google Apps, the university depends heavily on Google Maps, and all ASU campuses have full 3D models in Google Earth. Google even has an office at ASU's Tempe campus. The notion that Google might test the new service with ASU students isn't very outlandish, then, so the question is more a matter of what the service will be rather than if it will come to fruition.


"My World" questionnaire

To us, it seems that a virtual world is natural progression of Google Earth and its 3D representations of... well, the Earth. Users could create avatars, like those in Second Life. The "street view" feature of Google Maps could be incorporated, as well as Google SketchUp, with avatars being able to walk around on actual streets and enter real buildings to check out what's inside and socialize with other avatars. But the purpose wouldn't be to rival Second Life and all of its fantasy, sex, and moneymaking schemes.

What's the point?

Google Earth CTO Michael Jones insisted (first comment after the post) in January that Google Earth would always remain true to the real world and not dive into the type of fantasy world that Second Life has become. Therefore, Google's implementation would be more like "First Life," but in virtual form. If "My World" turns out to be a virtual representation of real life, however, it seems natural to question the purpose of launching such a service. We could, after all, just step outside and see these things from the vantage point of a real human, not a virtual one.

Instead, it makes sense for Google to mesh a bunch of its tools into one, thus creating a whole new advertising opportunity aimed at people, er, avatars, who are "walking" down virtual (real) streets to check out virtual (real) stores and businesses. And if Google wants, it could incorporate some of its more social ventures, such as social networking site Orkut and Google Talk, in order to motivate users to spend more time there. Whatever "My World" ends up being, we think that Google will go much further than just competing with Second Life—if the company makes it functionally useful and ties it in with services that people already use, it may have a chance of succeeding at getting average Internet users to participate.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Google isn't fessing up to any of its future plans. "We're always looking for new ways to help our users connect with each other, share information, and express themselves, but we don't have any new details to share at this time," a Google spokesperson told Ars. 

Channel Ars Technica