Virtual worlds agency Millions of Us has announced an artist-in-residence program focused on discovering and promoting emerging artists in the spheres of virtual worlds and social networking. The company will sponsor the artists discovered through the program, offering them the opportunity for informal collaboration with the Millions of Us creative team, and to use the company's technical resources to work independently on their own projects in a "relaxed atmosphere" and "unstructured program."

The first artist-in-residence will be UK-based Rob Wright, known as "Robbie Dingo" in Second Life, whose short film, a 3D interpretation of Van Gogh's famous Starry Night painting, was produced entirely in Second Life. His first commission for Millions of Us will be a film interpretation of the song "Meteors" by Kirsty Hawkshaw, an electronic music performer who works with the band Opus III and who performs in Second Life.

Millions of Us Chief Creative Officer Douglas Gayeton said, "Millions of Us is committed to finding the best talent in virtual worlds and all new media in order to bring them to a larger audience. This is in part because we want to bring the freshest thinking possible to our campaigns, but also because we are inspired by the rapidly evolving work being produced by today's digital artists and want to give back to the community."