Returning troops can assimilate virtually

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The flow of information and support to returning U.S. troops is being augmented online through virtual worlds with the "Coming Home" project, the Pentagon said.

The project will create a space within Second Life -- a 3-D online virtual community -- to provide camaraderie, support and resources for returning troops to help them re-assimilate into civilian life, the department said in a release.

"Second Life is unique because it allows users to build things and own the things they build," said Jacquelyn Morie of the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies. "It has a huge range; whatever people can imagine and dream, they can build there. You're represented by a 3-D avatar, so you can represent yourself however you feel is appropriate for who you are."

The project incorporates games, virtual world expertise and virtual human intelligence. It is populated with intelligence-driven virtual characters that can provide support to veterans, the Pentagon said.

"You can think of it as the VFW hall of the 21st century," Morie said. "Most veterans, when they come back, are not (relocated) into neighborhoods the way people were in World War II. So this gives people a chance to be together, even if they're widely dispersed."