University College Dublin made history today as the first Irish university ever to hold a lecture in the online virtual world Second Life, with Professor Mary Burke from the school of information and library studies who lectured to students from the virtual James Joyce library. Professor Burke’s lecture consisted of a series of slides relating to the collaborative and educational aspects of Web 2.0 technologies such as Second Life itself. Students were encouraged to debate and discuss the merits and difficulties involved in using platforms like these as part of their academic work and progression. These students will probably one day become lecturers or even make a revolution in the field of virtual life. Elements of online collaboration such as trust, control and access were discussed, with many students and non-students alike identifying access as one of the biggest problems. Professor Burke said she came up with the idea of hosting a lecture on Second Life after a colleague in UCLA in the US invited her along to a lecture there. The lecture was part of a series of Second Life events taking place at the James Joyce library as part of Library Ireland week. UCD’s virtual library first opened its doors in July 2007 and is one of over 40 libraries on Cybrary Island, a location dedicated to hosting the virtual version of real-life university or city libraries from around the world. C-ya in game Daniel F.