Contest on governance in virtual worlds

Traditionally governments are lagging behind when it comes to picking up on new media technologies. The recent discussions on banning violent video games (i.e. Manhunt 2) are just one of the many examples of the media illiteracy of our beloved members of parliament. That’s why a contest by the (Dutch) Ministry of Internal Affairs on the challenges of governance in a virtual world deserves some attention here.

Sadly the contest description is all in Dutch, but that should stop nobody stop from entering in it. The challenge is to write up a 1500 word essay which discusses an innovative governmental service within a virtual world, such as Second Life. Voting through virtual worlds, prototyping new infrastructure, there must be some better ideas out there. For all you web 2.0’sters, there’s even a Youtube movie.