China's homegrown alternative to Second Life is in development; it's called HiPiHi, and 10,000 ethnic Chinese from the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are currently testing it. A recent Newsweek feature went in-depth with HiPiHi's 38-year-old CEO and founder, Xu Hui, whose goals include 100,000 users signed up in the first three months and partnerships with international firms to establish virtual continents. Hui tells Newsweek he'd like to see disparate virtual worlds interconnected as part of the same universe; "We're on the same road to a dream—virtual worlds are just beginning," he says.

The article discusses some of HiPiHi's challenges, like authoritarian Beijing's censorship of anti-government criticism or sentiments in support for Taiwanese or Tibetan independence, among other verboten issues. Because of this, the article says, any online communication is subject to monitors quashing "incorrect" speech. "There will need to be some HiPiHi nannies—it can't permit a lot of the things that Second Life permits," says David Wolf, CEO of Wolf Group Asia, a Beijing-based consultancy. "It will be Second Life with Chinese characteristics."

It's also unclear if HiPiHi will be allowed to have a virtual economy, either-- the article says it hopes to have something akin to Second Life's Linden dollar, but Beijing policy-making can be heavy-handed and capricious.

It can't be predicted how well the freeform virtual world environment will be embraced by the Chinese-- outside of metropolitan areas, as the article notes, few have access to the highest-end technology, and Chinese gamers tend to prefer more structured and immersive gaming environments like World of Warcraft. "The virtual-life model hasn't been tested in China yet, and it will be a challenge for operators to get a large number of users in the beginning," says Liu Bin, a Beijing-based analyst with tech and Internet consultancy BDA. "I think this is a major problem."

On the other hand, a strictly-controlled virtual environment, or what the article calls a "family-friendly Second Life", might be appealing to Chinese women and parents, and as such could enjoy a broader audience and more acceptance-- especially since the Chinese team is apparently endeavoring to improve on the Second Life interface and make it more user-friendly.

[Via Newsweek]