News of a virtual world. It's almost a routine find at iReport.com, but there was a time when we weren't sure what kinds of Second Life iReports we were going to get. We've gotten plenty, and it turns out that SL iReports are often some of the most interesting stories we get at iReport.com.

By now, we've learned a few lessons and we're going to fine-tune our efforts for maximum impact. One big change is we're retiring this blog. While these entries will stay archived on CNN.com, we're shifting our focus to iReport.com/secondlife (and the iReport.com blog). We'd like to direct our efforts toward putting content on CNN and coming up with creative ways to channel the endless talents of the SL iReport community. If you're out capturing news of a virtual world, or you're just curious about these kinds of stories, we welcome you to check out our SL iReports and send a few of your own. Can't wait to see what you come up with!July 19th is the first birthday for Italia Vera and of course there will be a great 12-hours party (3:00am-3:00pm) in each of its 4 lands. This day will be filled by live events: music gigs, exhibits, literary meetings, fashion shows. The promoters have the aim of giving to the visiting residents and idea of which are the daily activities in the lands. The first anniversary of Italia Vera represents a good chance to go back over its inworld path so far. In the summer of 2007 Italia Vera project came into existence: it was based on an accurate reconstruction of a virtual Italy, from the Alps Mountains to the little isle of Pantelleria, based on satellite maps pictures So far the virtual towns of Milano, Torino and Marostica have been opened, soon they will be followed by the town of Genova; the construction technique includes both the textures and the building, which allows the avatars to walk freely inside the virtual buildings. Italia Vera lands are constantly on the highest rankings among SL most popular places, and this is n due not only to the beauty of the virtual environment: the reason of a success into web 2.0 is above all based on the community: this one is the true basis for Italia Vera it’s actually its life blood. It’s a bright and shining community that animates all the meeting points, such as Piazza del Duomo in Milano, Piazza San Carlo in Torino and Piazza degli Scacchi in Marostica, .Sharing emotions at the same time is the magic in SL: such emotions and feelings are absolutely more real than virtual: often we can read in the public chats “it seems to be in Real Life!” The musical”Odissea”, first debuting in SL and then in RL,the Second Live Festival, showing the tunes of the most famous sl musicians,hundreds of live music gigs, from jazz to blues to rock represent some samples f Italia Vera entertainment activities. This offer is directed not only to the inner community but above all to all occasional visitors, who once teleported in the awesome Italian cities enjoyed the stay walking around in such a beautiful scenario. Italia Vera lands are not only a great source of entertainment but also a great economic opportunity: inside of them we can find firms that, established in RL in the same Italian cities, have chosen to be there inworld too, with the aim of being transported in the whole world trough SL. Web marketing and e-commerce are the very next challenges for Italia Vera in Second Life. Finally, Italia Vera wealth is strictly inside the engagement and dedication of all the staff whose passion behind pixels has very little of virtual and it’s instead very real!