Brazil’s TAM Airline Takes Off to Second Life skies

Brazil’s TAM said it is about to become the first airline to promote itself in the Second Life online virtual world by offering cyberspace flights that correspond to its real-world international service.

Second Life, created by U.S.-based Linden Lab, has millions of registered users and its own economy and currency, known as the Linden dollar, which can be exchanged for U.S. dollars.

TAM said on Thursday it will offer avatars –users’ 3-D representations that, ironically, can fly on their own- gifts to take virtual TAM flights to Second Life islands called Milan, Paris, New York and England. The islands represent the leading Brazilian airline’s actual international destinations.

Several companies are already active in Second Life, including Japanese car maker Toyota, IBM and Reuters Group Plc, which has a virtual news bureau there. TAM said some 200,000 Brazilians use Second Life (secondlife.com), the virtual world’s fourth-biggest community by country.