The online virtual world of Second Life has an Islamic world component. Exactly what Second Life is seems to be a matter of some debate, as the Wikipedia article linked above makes clear. Whether it has ‘utility’, in the normal sense of the word, is also open to question. What is unquestionable, however, is that tens of millions of people have alternate existences there, where they live a simulacrum of (or alternative to) the real lives they live in the ordinary world.

The website en.calameo.com has a 153-page Adobe Flash book on how the Islamic world and Islam are being represented and populated in Second Life. I find it very interesting, though I confess that I don’t really get the point. Whether the representation of the Islamic world is accurate—beyond the trivialities of architecture and clothing—is something you can decide for yourselves. As an exercise in human ingenuity, however, it is quite remarkable.

If you’re interested, take a look at this link.