According to Mass High Tech, the US Navy has created a virtual version of its Naval Underseas Warfare Center in Second Life, the latest in a string of military-related activity in Second Life.

The island is intended to duplicate the 128-acre R&D center located in Newport, Rhode Island and replicates buildings, exhibits, and the USS Virginia submarine, as shown above.

Mass High Tech also reports that “NUWC said the virtual base is intended to eventually enable remote users, such as Navy sailors, to use their Second Life avatars to control actual tactical hardware/software via video networking capabilities while immersed in the virtual space.”

There are obvious security issues that would need to be worked out if official US naval personnel were to navigate real-time objects in Second Life, and we wonder how this will be worked out. I suppose it would happen behind that mystery firewall we keep hearing about. But here’s yet another signal of the ‘applications use’ of the Grid, and potential real/virtual mash-ups.

P.S. I’m off to pitch a project to the military myself, but we’re suggesting OpenSim for lack of a firewall alternative in SL. Wish me luck.