Is nothing sacred these days? Apparently everything from the real world is making its way to the virtual one, with NBA having already launched its presence in Second Life. This was announced in an in-wrold press conference yesterday, with NBA commissioner David Stern the one who dropped the ball. Constructed by the Electric Sheep Company, the NBA region in SL will come with a basketball arena with some goodies for sports buffs to enjoy. Among them include streaming video of classic NBA games, more recent highlights, online NBA merchandise, as well as a quartet of half courts for fans to participate in dunking contests as well as play HORSE.

Apparently, a recent demo of HORSE featured some pretty innovative scripting and animation that ought to capture your attention whether you’re a basketball fan or not. Word on the street has it that the NBA in Second Life will host a special event on a daily basis until the end of the season which wraps up sometime this June. As Second Life continues to grow (as if it is not growing enough already), the league holds hope of seeing both players and fans’ avatars interacting, potentially churning out the ultimate 3D fantasy game. Er right, only if you’re a sports buff, mister.

Virtual basketball eh. I presume if this idea takes off, you will find the NFL and MLB hopping aboard the bandwagon to get a piece of the pie. Heck, Soccer fans will probably clamor for their share of virtual soccer leagues, and could hope for a thumping of Manchester United by AC Milan later today.

Source: 3pointD

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