Vive l’Europe! Adam Reuter’s reports that there are now more Europeans than Americans in Second Life, with 54% of the active users in January being from Europe and 31% from the US. Here’s the full breakdown from January:
United States 31.19%
- France 12.73%
- Germany 10.46%
- United Kingdom 8.09%
- Netherlands 6.55%
- Spain 3.83%
- Brazil 3.77%
- Canada 3.30%
- Belgium 2.63%
- Italy 1.93%
The biggest jump was French participation, which has long been a strong part of the SL population, but experienced a huge upsurge due to the establishment of a virtual headquarters for the Front National and the resulting anti-Le Pen backlash.
Soon, a translator HUD is going to be a mandatory device for anyone who spends any amount of time in a public sim. I find my intermediate French and Spanish to be useful on nearly a daily basis at the events I go to. Hell, I use my language skills more in SL nowadays than I do in the multi-cultural metropolis of Manhattan. That says something right there.
Keep an eye on that Brazilian statistic. I’d love to encounter more African, Asian, and Latin American / Caribbean residents, builds and events. Efforts like the Diversity Festival in March, the SL Model UN group that my friend Stephen Stefan Fermi is organizing, and the various translator devices being devised can only help this along.
Dude… it’s Stefan, not Stephen. 🙂
where can we find said translator HUD? ;).
There are several on the market. Go to http://www.slexchange.com and search for translator.
Also I think you can find a free one on Info Island.