In Washington, DC:
Rebecca Ong
Phone: +1 (202) 458-0434
Email: E-mail: rong@ifc.org


Washington, D.C., October 23, 2007 – The World Bank and IFC will venture inside the online virtual world Second Life as they launch their Doing Business 2008 report to the millions strong digital community on October 26, 2007.

During the three-hour event, Dahlia Khalifa, spokesperson for the Doing Business report, will appear in Second Life’s virtual world to present the report and take questions from participants. The presentation will be held on Activ8 Island in Second Life at 11am EDT (3pm GMT, 8am Second Life Time) on Friday, October 26, 2007.

Second Life is an online, virtual world created by its users, also known as residents. It offers a platform for communication, business, and education. Besides residents from North America and Europe, more than 1 in 5 residents logs on to the virtual site from Latin America, Asia or Africa.

The World Bank and IFC have used online distribution for the previous four issues of the Doing Business report. This year, they are adding Second Life to the report’s distribution strategy because of the platform’s ability to broadcast a message to a large international audience with shared interests through real-time interaction.

“Second Life, as a global community with residents from more than 100 countries, is an ideal venue to host a virtual launch of a report that compares how easy it is for people to start and operate a business in 178 economies,” Dahlia Khalifa said. “Second Life is on the frontier of collaboration and technology. It brings people from around the world together by removing boundaries,” she added.
 
The World Bank and IFC hope to use Second Life to reach business owners, investors, aid donors, and other interested people with the findings of this report. The event will be an open forum where policy makers and the public from around the world, including Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, can ask questions, challenge the findings, and contribute to a global business dialogue aimed at stimulating reforms that improve the business environment, and ultimately create more business startups, job opportunities, and economic growth.

Digital copies of the report’s overview, as well as World Bank–IFC virtual apparel and products, will be available to Second Life residents who attend the event.

Second Life marketing agency, The SLAgency, is handling all virtual world marketing and technical arrangements for the event.

For more information on the October 26 event, please visit www.activ8sl.com/doingbusiness.

For more information on the World Bank, IFC, or the Doing Business 2008 report, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.ifc.org, or www.doingbusiness.org.