The Maldives opened Second Life’s first virtual embassy on May 23rd, beating the upcoming Swedish embassy by eight days. The Philippines and Macedonia are also looking into establishing diplomatic missions, as Second Life’s role as a means of low-cost communication becomes increasingly evident.

I’ve blogged about Second Life a couple of times before; I think I like it because it’s so reminiscent of the virtual universe envisioned in Snow Crash. It’s rapidly becoming a true shadow community, which is neat.