| Big Brother goes virtual
Big Brother could soon be watching you in cyberspace. According to Endemol, the Dutch programmer than pioneered the hit reality format, a new version of the series will appear in the online game Second Life.
"Big Brother Second Life represents a fantastic opportunity to amass knowledge of the virtual world," said Endemol Netherlands Managing Director Paul Romer. "In the future, we will use this experience to develop specific content for online communities."
Second Life, created by San Francisco-based company Linden Labs, is a three-dimensional virtual world that has more than one million registered users and even its own economy and currency.
Similarly to the real-world Big Brother, Endemol will select 15 Second Life players to compete who will then spend at least eight hours a day inside a glass-walled cyberhouse. Contestants will be voted off one by one to determine a winner.
The last contestant standing will win a virtual island within the Second Life universe that has a real-world value of $US1675.
Fans will have to log on to see whether the online edition of Big Brother can generate as much controversy as a real-life series.
--------------------------
more......
--------------------------
Pirates pillage reality TV
advertisement
Could reality contestants soon be donning eye patches and walking the plank as they compete for pieces of eight? It could be coming to your TV, with news that Survivor producer Mark Burnett is developing a new pirate-themed reality series.
Several seasons of Survivor have had a pirate undercurrent, though Burnett's new series will truly pillage the theme. According to Variety, the series will be set on both land and sea, "suggesting the presence of ships and islands as central characters in the unscripted drama".
US network CBS has approved production on the 13-episode series, which will begin casting shortly. The as-yet-untitled series is slated to premiere in mid 2007.
The new series will reportedly feature competitions and elimination ceremonies, though an insider told Variety that it will not merely be 'Survivor at sea' and will differ from that series in many ways.
Burnett, 46, is considered a reality TV pioneer. As well as Survivor, he has also worked on The Apprentice and Rock Star. He also teamed with director Steven Spielberg for an upcoming filmmaking reality series titled On the Lot.
Survivor: Cook Islands airs on the Nine Network on Wednesdays. __________________ The New 90210 starts in Australia September 8th on Ch10 
RIP Heath Ledger 1979 - 2008
Last edited by -Kelly- : 11-09-2006 at 10:57 PM.
|