news release

(Dresden) - Dresden Gallery's Second Life site is a highly successful virtual platform. Since its launch in May 2007 it allows virtual Residents to explore a precise replica of the Old Masters Gallery of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. As of October 2008 the Espro Acoustiguide Group will enhance the experience with the first audio tour in a virtual museum.

Today we marvel over the outdated reel-to-reel players that Acoustiguide users carried through museums in 1957. Half a century later, the company that pioneered the concept of the audio tour is going virtual. For the first time, avatars in Second Life can use the same audio content on line that is enjoyed by visitors in real life.

Guests to the Dresden Gallery can now not only discover accurately simulated rooms displaying all the Gallery's 750 works of art, but can also get rich audio content. Upon entering a gallery, an avatar is offered a free Acoustiguide with a headset. The main works of art on display are marked with a sound symbol. A click on the symbol triggers the linked audio information. This fascinating tour is narrated by professional voiceover artists and enriched with period music, making the online virtual tour through the Dresden Gallery a very special experience.

Initially the audio tour is available in English only. This will be followed by German, French, Spanish and Italian versions. There are also plans to introduce tours in Russian and Japanese in the future. The Cologne media production company TextLab text+media is responsible for the technical conception and implementation of the Acoustiguide tour in Second Life.

Read articles from the Press at:
(French/English): Les maîtres anciens hebergés sur Second Life
http://www.arhv.lhivic.org/index.php/2007/06/06/424-les-maitres-anciens-heberges-sur-second-life
The Art History Newsletter http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=554