Entertainment

Proclaimed the next big cyberphenomenon, Second Life is making a splash worldwide. And now it's made its way to the University of Texas at Dallas and onto the local arts scene. UTD will host a landmark event, a virtual art exhibit, beginning at 9 tonight.

Don't understand the meaning of "virtual"? That means you might want to hold off on driving over to UTD.

"We want people to go to this from their homes," says Dean Terry, professor of Arts and Technology at UTD. "In other words, we want them to view it online. There'll be people from all over the country and all over the world viewing the exhibit. That's the nature of a 3-D, immersive world."

Second Life, as the Boston Globe recently described it, is a simulated world populated by avatars but built by their human alter egos. The number of registered users recently passed the 1 million mark, up from 100,000 in early 2006.

Mr. Terry expects folks from as far away as Alaska and Japan to check in on UTD's one-of-a-kind exhibit, which requires patrons to go to the Second Life Web site, www.secondlife.com, to set up a free account.

You will then be directed to install the Second Life software. Once that's done, go to www.utd.edu/worlds, where you automatically enter the UTD exhibit.

"Being able to view an art exhibit in an online 3-D world," Mr. Terry says, "is what makes it really innovative."

Kristi Barrus, events manager for the School of Arts & Humanities at UTD, says dozens of students in the school's Arts and Technology program have Second Life accounts and parade around as Second Life avatars.

The A-Tech program recently bought an "island" on Second Life, and one of the mainstays on UTD's virtual island is an art gallery.

A Second Life artist whose avatar goes by the name Shoshana Epsilon has taken stunning digital portraits of other users' avatars, Ms. Barrus says, and her work will be the centerpiece of tonight's exhibit.

"She's done about 40 portraits of other avatars," says an admiring Mr. Terry. "In a sense, she's like a traditional portrait photographer, except she takes pictures of other avatars. She has a virtual studio, with lights and chairs and the whole deal."

Mr. Terry sees Second Life as a wonderfully innovative artistic tool. "Lots of universities are getting into these spaces," he says, "but from my research, we're way ahead."

E-mail mgranberry@dallasnews.com