AMD expands Second Life presence

Three-month treasure hunt planned for developers.

AMD has set up a display hall and auditorium in the Second Life virtual world to extend its developer outreach program.

The chipmaker will kick off a three-month treasure hunt this weekend to celebrate the opening, with an Athlon-powered Dell Dimension E521 system up for grabs.

The new pavilion is based on AMD Dev Central Island, and includes a virtual space for meetings, lectures, training courses and networking opportunities.

"The Second Life 'metaverse' is a gathering place for both new and established developers," said Paul Nolte, AMD project manager and contributing builder for the AMD Developer Central Second Life Pavilion.

"Through the interactive virtual experience at the pavilion, we hope to provide developers with an outlet to learn and grow, such as helping them to optimise native code for multi-threaded applications."

Adrienne Haik, co-founder of Metaversatility, which designed key elements of the AMD Dev Central Island, added: "As a developer, I am excited by the way Second Life invites ordinary users to try their hands at computer coding, while also providing an outlet for experienced programmers."

The first event at the AMD Dev Central Pavilion takes place on 25 February at 1pm Pacific Standard Time.