AS further testament to the blurring boundaries between virtual worlds and reality, a credit card designed by two local technopreneurs for use in the fantasy realm of Second Life can soon be used to buy real items like mobile ringtones and wallpapers.

In the online universe of Second Life, over five million residents interact, work, travel and play under the cloak of their 3D avatars, spawning a virtual economy which offers everything from clothing to art and property.

To support the growing virtual market, the Singapore company, First Meta, created a virtual credit card for the parallel digital dimension.

Beyond allowing users to accessorise their 3D characters with the season's haute couture on Second Life, the company's Meta-Card can soon be used to 'buy real goods using virtual currency', said Aileen Sim, co-founder and chief operating officer of First Meta.

A website called thecellcity.com is set to become the first merchant in the real world to recognise the firm's piece of digital plastic, adding to the Meta-Card's acceptance at nearly 400 virtual stores on Second Life.

Cardholders will be able to buy items like wallpapers, ringtones and games for their mobile phones from the portal, much like how a person uses his real credit card for online shopping today.

The difference, however, is that the MetaCard is based on Second Life's virtual currency called the Linden dollar (L$) so Cellcity will have to exchange its accumulated digital wealth for hard cash at a rate of around L$265 to one US dollar.

Besides extending the use of the Linden dollar to stores in the physical world, First Meta is even paying some of its own employees using this form of virtual cash.

From its humble beginnings as a start-up supported by $50,000 from the Interactive and Digital Media (IDM) Programme Office, which is spearheaded by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), the company has now grown to become a 25-man operation.

Out of this number, 10 are toiling away solely on Second Life and receive a monthly pay cheque in L$, according to Douglas Abrams, First Meta's CEO.

The company also received additional backing from private investors and is looking to raise millions more in another round of fundraising this year, he added.

First Meta's online venture is one of 94 projects supported by the IDM Programme Office's R&D grant in 2007 and the office is hoping to groom more of such local successes over coming years.

In particular, the MDA-led outfit has been trying to kick-start Singapore's digital media foray by strengthening its research capabilities.

This push is backed by the National Research Foundation's $500 million war chest for growing the local IDM sector over a five-year period.

In 2007, the IDM R&D programme office has launched several initiatives aimed at spurring the development of digital media technologies among individuals and start-ups, as well as tertiary and research institutions.

Some 100 new patents are set to be registered as a result of these efforts, and they span projects that cover everything from new 3D mapping applications to mobile games and next-generation search engines capable of trawling the Internet for audio and video content.

'We expect (to support) 100 to 200 projects a year,' said Michael Yap, deputy chief executive officer of the MDA and executive director of the IDM Programme Office.

He was speaking to reporters at an event to showcase key IDM research projects in the past year.

'Hopefully, this combination (of different types of R&D) will be lethal and we can grow our own (IDM) industry,' he added.

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