Linden Lab, the owners of Second Life, announce today the 2010 Linden Prize, to be awarded to the best project that "advances the human condition" using their virtual world platform. As they say on the official site:
The Linden Prize will award one Second Life Resident or team with $10,000 USD for an innovative inworld project that improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside of the virtual world. This annual award is intended to align with Linden Lab’s company mission, which is to connect all people to an online world that advances the human condition.
Last year's winners were Wikitecture and Virtual Ability, both very worthwhile efforts that connect the real world and virtual world in meaningful and evocative ways.
One Caveat: What Linden Lab don't seem to make clear on the site or their blog is that the $10,000 is awarded in Linden Dollars and can't be cashed out. So you can't use the $10,000 to pay staff, fund overhead, or other real world expenses. Still, a really great initiative!
CORRECTION: Blondin Linden tells me that the US$10K prize is paid out in US currency and can be used however the winner wants!
Completed applications are due on January 15, 2010. Read the full blog post here and the official site here.
