Dana Point, CA, Today, Dan Parks, President and Creative Director of Corporate Planners Unlimited, Inc. announced Virtualis Convention and Learning Center™ was designated last week as one of 31 international firms as a Gold Solutions Provider in Second Life™ by Linden Lab. Virtualis™ is the largest and most meticulously-designed convention center in the revolutionary, computer-generated world of Second Life™. Second Life™ is accessible through a free downloadable application - the Second Life™ Browser. Using this application, people can create a graphical 3D representation of themselves, avatars, which can be maneuvered within the Second Life world.

The Gold Solution Provider Program allows organizations new to the world of Second Life™ to find experienced partners who deliver high-quality experiences for a wide range of Second Life Projects, as shared by Tom Hale, Chief Product Officer at Linden Lab. Hale further shared that innovative enterprises military organizations and government agencies are also using Second Life™ as their platform choice for distance learning and education which includes simulations. Parks states, "There are many extremely talented individuals and companies providing services in SL. We are thrilled to be named one of the 31 global companies to garner the Gold Solution Provider status. Our team has worked diligently to provide strategic solutions within this creative, immersive environment focusing on stewardship and corporate responsibility."

Virtualis has doubled in size in less than a year based upon the need for corporations and associations to find virtual solutions as a result of economic trends as well as long-term focus on corporate social responsibility and the reduction of carbon imprint. Their success in providing solutions to their clients garnered the Gold Solutions Provider designation after an extensive application and vetting process conducted by Linden Labs, owner of Second Life ™. Only 31 Solution Providers successfully made it through the vetting process from the US, the UK, Europe and Asia into the new program, confirming Virtualis ™ is well qualified in all aspects of their services within the framework of the virtual world environment.

To ensure program success, Parks has assembled a team of Certified Meeting Professionals (CMP's) and a Certified Special Event Professional (CSEP) which no other facility has in Second Life™. Virtualis™ is the only Second Life™ meeting facility managed and operated by award-winning and experienced hospitality and meeting industry professionals. This compilation of team members along with the knowledge of the inner workings set apart Virtualis™ from other convention centers and builds offering meeting space in Second Life™.

Virtualis™ offers an arena which can accommodate 360 virtual attendees, a convention center offering a traditional appearance including a registration area, lobby with inviting seating for networking and teambuilding along with a prefunction and ballroom space. There are nine educational breakout rooms which can be designed to look like any ballroom or breakout room in a real-world setting which allows a combination of real and virtual attendance making virtual attendees feel as if they have front and center seating.

Expansive exhibition space is also available along with non-traditional learning space in the Eisenstodt Learning Center breaking all the brick and mortar barriers when it comes to innovative meeting space. Teambuilding activities, special event spaces and more are available which all include the ability to stream in any live or recorded audio and visual media. Corporate Planners Unlimited, Inc. chose Second Life™ as the platform because it is the most robust, readily available and well-supported of all technology currently available integrating live voice chat capabilities with their voice over internet protocol service. Second Life™ boasts more than 150 educational institutions who have chosen Second Life™ as their vehicle of teaching as well as companies with a global reach such as Adobe BT, Xerox, Michelin and Cisco.

To schedule a VIP tour of Virtualis and/or an interview with Dan Parks, Virtualis Founder, by contacting Parks at [email protected] or calling (800) 493-2545 Ext. 201 or visit the Virtualis website at .