Realtime, Spontaneous Movement Brings Real-Life Expression to Second Life
                                  Avatars

    BOSTON, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Linden Lab(R), creator of the acclaimed
3D world Second Life(R), today announced the introduction of expressive
puppeteering for Second Life avatars. With expressive puppeteering, any
resident will be able to manipulate their avatar to create real-time,
gestures and movements. The animation is being demonstrated by Second Life
at the SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and
Interactive Technologies, in Boston, MA, July 30 - August 2 (booth 310.)
    The ability to add movement through the expressive puppeteering
technology will be fully integrated into Second Life, allowing residents
who desire a more advanced and realistic animation to enhance their
interaction without having to access dedicated animation software programs.
To create an animation, residents simply grab an avatar's body part and
move it in the desired way. The avatar then "learns" the animation and
gestures accordingly.
    "The introduction of expressive puppeteering to the Second Life
experience significantly heightens the realism of avatar interaction while
by allowing real-time modifications in a shared space," said Cory Ondrejka,
vice president of product development at Linden Lab. "We are constantly
exploring and innovating new technologies that can enhance the user
experience in Second Life, and we believe these animation features will
open new channels of expression for our growing resident population."
    "Second Life has proven to be an exciting venue for movie-making due to
its ability to offer the same real-time collaboration as experienced on a
real world movie set," said Paul Marino, executive director of the Academy
of Machinima Arts & Sciences. "I look forward to the continued growth of
machinima in Second Life as innovations like expressive puppeteering allow
pioneering machinima directors to advance their story-telling."
    Linden Lab intends to introduce additional animation capabilities in
the coming months to further enhance the realism of avatar interaction in
the virtual world.
    About Linden Lab
    Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a
revolutionary new form of shared 3D experience. The former CTO of
RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's
streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. In April 2003, noted
software pioneer Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, was
named Chairman. In 2006, Philip Rosedale and Linden Lab received WIRED's
Rave Award for Innovation in Business.
    Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior team bringing
together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team
members have previously worked for market leading companies such as
Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, Macromedia, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel
and RealNetworks.
    NOTE: Second Life(R) and Linden Lab(R) are registered trademarks of
Linden Research, Inc.

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