University of Western Australia
UWA started a Second Life project in mid-2009. (Second Life is a 3D online virtual world open to the public, free of charge.) By early 2010 it was the most active Second Life project of any Australian university. The UWA site covers three islands (projected to expand), with several models of historic buildings from the Crawley campus, a virtual lecture hall which is used to run real lectures, and a facility where the capabilities of Second Life are being explored for use in scientific visualisation research. During 2009-2010, UWA in Second Life is running a monthly art contest, attracting around 70 artists and many visitors from around the world. Every month a new set of artworks are submitted and the community, together with a judging panel, select winners in a number of categories, who are then awarded cash prizes.