SLENTRE.COM

by Sappho Zapatero

Similar to “Miss Universe” and other beauty pageants in real life, “Miss Virtual World 2010,” seeks a beautiful Second Life avatar with outstanding presence and personality.  The winner will be crowned December 19th 2010 at 11am SLT at the Patch Thibauld Auditorium in Second Life.

Earlier this month, I was invited to the Official Press Presentation of the Miss Virtual World candidates of 2010.   The event was a rehearsal in preparation for the final evening and announcement of the 2010 winner.  As the Miss Virtual World website states:

“While looks, style abilities, and answering questions under pressure are important, another aspect of utmost importance is for the winner to have a caring personality and a willingness to help others.  The last two qualities should be the contestant’s top priority.”

The finalists will be judged by ten experienced individuals with backgrounds in content creation, fashion, modeling, photography and journalism.

This year, there were over 1200 entries, 161 finalists, with 22 official candidates selected.   You can see the finalists presented in-world on the Casablanca Hotel sim and  below in the promotional video produced by Ed Clarity:

The sim was packed with avatars from the Press, judges, designers, models, and other residents.  Unfortunately, the lag was horrendous, and it took about ten minutes for all the models to “walk down the boulevard.”

(Miss Bahamas answers questions at the Miss Virtual Universe 2010 press conference.)

The first contestant, Miss Bahamas, was asked by Jordan Witt, “If I were a new resident in SL, where is the first place you would take me and why?”  Her response:  “The first place I would take a new SL resident perhaps might be to the Greenies Home. It’s a place that had me bewildered not only with the building capabilities of people in SL but it also helped you see that you are a part of a larger SL community.”

The contestants were diverse, representing 22 countries.  Several contestants required the use of translators, who were readily available.  One contestant, Miss Japan, was asked, “If your life was a play by William Shakespeare, which one would you be and why?”  Her response, “Juliet….for her spirit, tenaciousness, and stubbornness.”

(Miss Japan compares herself to Shakespeare’s Juliet while answering questions posed by reporters.)

The finalists were extremely beautiful and well designed. The human behind each avatar had obviously spent hours constructing their look. One contestant said it took her approximately twelve hours to design her outfit.

With the exception of lag and multiple sim crashes, the event was wonderfully organized.  Considering participants were from around the world, it was truly a remarkable and memorable event.  Miss Singapore’s response to a CNN reporter seemed to sum up the event perfectly, “Having a pretty Avatar and great clothes are not the only things that Miss Virtual Universe needs to win. Her attitude and personality are the most important factors. Being Miss VU is representing people everywhere, not only Second Life residents.”