Just got a link to a news story in The Guardian on a Spanish medical group that has set up a virtual health center in Second Life, with the intention of counseling teens on confidential and sensitive health issues. As the article states:
Spanish health authorities launched a virtual portal through the
Second Life website yesterday designed to help young people too
embarrassed to speak to a doctor about sexually transmitted disease or
a drug problem. Real doctors will log on and offer advice to
their anonymous patients. What both will see is an image of a
consulting room with a doctor and a typical patient.
I dropped in and visited the sim, the "Isla de Salud" (click here to teleport). It was unfortunately empty except for another avatar from Spain looking for someone who worked there. The virtual hospital has been apparently set up by the Spanish Society for Family and Community Medicine (FYC) and the Coalition for Citizens with Chronic Illnesses.
Here’s a real obvious question: Why did FYC set up a space to counsel teens on the Main (Adult) Grid of Second Life, when teens are supposed to be logging into the Teen Grid of SL?
Maybe they know that teens like being in adults-only spaces? Or maybe they didn’t do much research before implementing this build?
Also, I was fairly easily able to enter the "confidential" counseling area (right-click-sit FTW). So they might want to beef up their security to make sure that others are not eavesdropping on these "confidential" sessions with their patients. Just a suggestion.