Health and public service were the focus of two recent articles on iReport, the user-generated news site at CNN. The first report was an insider’s view of a trip through the Imperial College London’s Virtual Medical School. The sim was created in accordance with the recommendations set out in the London Strategic Health Authority’s report “Healthcare for London: A Framework for Action”

HibiscusH was given a private tour of the facility by one of the college’s administrators. It’s an interesting walk-through of a medical clinic, giving a tangible sense of what a medical training facility in Second Life feels like, down to the detail that, before leaving the scrub room, “If someone has not scrubbed up or put on a mask, they are reminded to do so.” The report also goes on to describe a related sim, Second Health Phase 2, and outlines the positive reactions to in-world training that medical students have had.

Another iReport article by HibiscusH described the recent launch of Digital Ontario Island (DOI), the Ontario government’s second sim in Second Life. The focus of this island is on issues relating to broadband access, looking specifically at “investigating the challenges and opportunities of broadband as a driver of social and economic change.” The island feature six pavilions including: Affordable and Accessible Broadband, Next Generation Infrastructure, Innovation in a Digital Economy, Digital Citizens and Business, Digital Government and Community and Digital Inclusion.

Digital Ontario Island joins the government’s Ontario Public Service island, a place where users go to research jobs in Ontario’s public sector.

After watching all of the presentations in-world, HibiscusH describes DOI as “a meeting place and a place for discussion and exchange for individuals and groups interested in improving quality of life through technology,” with the summation that “it is an interesting and extremely exciting way for a government to make use of new technologies and be forward thinking, especially in these challenging economic times.”