Keio University to open a new campus on Second Life

According to a news article entitled “Keio University to become Japan’s 1st university to offer official university courses on Second Life” [jp]:

Keio University announced on July 31th that they will offer part of their courses on Second Life, a 3-D virtual community that has gained popularity in the US and Europe.

Keio University, one of the leading universities in Japan, plans to open a virtual campus and offer part of their lectures which have been offered online on Second Life.

This will be the first time for a Japanese university to offer lectures from regular university courses on Second Life.

Many companies are now entering into Second Life, but in the future, we might see more universities there as well. In the case of Keio, however, they are offering courses that have already been available on websites, so I guess they are just dipping their toe in the water..

* press release [pdf]