The World Bank prepares for its second annual virtual launch of its Doing Business Report.

(Originally published at SLNN.COM.)

This Second Island – Members of the World Bank communications team, together with people from This Second Marketing are preparing for World Bank’s second virtual launch of their ‘Doing Business’ Report.

For five years, the World Bank has been producing an annual report about business regulations in 181 countries, as well as reports on cities and other localities. They report on countries that have made great strides in improving the regulatory environment, making it easier for new companies to start which can help address problems of poverty in developing countries.

In the current economic environment, where fears of financial turmoil and global recession are grabbing the headlines, smart regulatory reform can help mitigate some of these concerns.

The annual report continues to evolve and future reports may include sections on the infrastructure of various localities, including Internet connectivity which is crucial to taking advantages of sites like Second Life.

The launch in Second Life is part of a larger effort to use social media to promote the work of the World Bank. The World Bank also has blogs and a Facebook group. They are working hard on integrating all of their social media.

For example, a visit to the World Bank space in Second Life reveals kiosks that can not only download reports from the World Bank, but can be used to access the Doing Business Blog and the Doing Business page on Facebook. The Facebook page imports blog entries from the Doing Business Blog, and promotes the events in Second Life. There are already nearly three thousand fans of the Facebook page and a couple dozen have signed up for the virtual launch with is listed on the Facebook page.

This illustrates a power of marketing that is too often overlooked in Second Life. The more integrated the marketing campaign is with other social media and with real life events, the more successful the campaign is likely to be in Second Life.

The World Bank is also focusing on making this an interactive environment. The World Bank Space provides a small, cozy space for members of the World Bank team to speak with members of the press or other interested parties in a one-on-one setting. It also provides a larger press suite which will be used for press conferences and a world café where people can gather to discuss the Doing Business report and how they might start businesses in new countries.

The main stage provides a podium, a screen for displaying PowerPoint presentations, and a table for a moderator and an assistant.

The main launch of the space is scheduled to be Thursday, October 30th at 8 AM SLT. This time was chosen to make it as easy as possible for interested parties from around the globe to attend. If the Facebook event responses are any indication, they have been successful in this by attracting people from Lebanon, India, Columbia, Panama and other countries.

Yet this main launch is only one of several events planned for the coming week. Real Biz will be talking about the World Bank’s project on the 27th. There will be a Press Day on the 28th, which is expected to attract reporters interested in the Doing Business report, as well as those interested in how the World Bank is using Second Life to communicate their message.

On the 29th there will be social activities, including performances by Ayden Kruh, Cylindrian Rutabaga and Maximillion Kleene. This will be followed by ample opportunities for networking.

Longer term the World Bank team is looking at the possibility of replicating some of their real world forums in Second Life, or perhaps even hosting mixed reality events taking place as a real world forum and a Second Life event at the same time.

The World Bank’s use of Second Life is a good illustration of the benefits that Second Life has to offer, an interactive environment that can be integrated with other social networks to build community and discussion around important events, reports and products. If you’re interested in using Second Life to get your message out, you would do well to pay close attention to what the World Bank is doing.