Barcelona, Spain and London, UK — NEC Corporation, a leading provider of Next Generation IP Voice and Media service solutions, announced today that their intention to connect the virtual world, namely “Second Life” to the real world using their SCI Platform solution during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. SCI Platform, which incorporates components of NEC’s Service Delivery Platform (SDP) for providers of IP voice and multimedia services, will liberate currently closed virtual world communications and connect them to the real world by using a unique `NEC communicator` placed in Second Life world.

At NEC’s booth, Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona, visitors can enter Second Life and control an avatar to make calls to another person in the real world by using the NEC communicator. Additionally, visitors can send text oriented messages such as SMS, email and IP Messaging from Second Life to the real world.

NEC’s vision for “real world gateways”, as illustrated by this demonstration, helps its customers to find new Web 2.0 revenue streams by taking critical “virtual to real world” interface roles in terms of ubiquitous communication, payment, media distribution and context distribution. NEC will further communicate their vision for IP Voice and Media innovation, convergence and service evolution through other exciting demonstrations at the booth.

The NEC Communicator will be located at “Tokutoku Pocket Island” in the Second Life world during Mobile World Congress 2008. NEC launched “NEC Island”, “Tokutoku Pocket Island” and several other virtual points of presence in September 2007 to initiate branding, marketing and new business opportunities activities in the virtual world.