Letting Your Fingers Do the Running - New York Times

Letting Your Fingers Do the Running - New York Times: "Letting Your Fingers Do the Running

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By MARK WALLACE
Published: August 21, 2005

THIS year is the 20th anniversary of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life events, in which teams of runners jog through the night at schools, fairgrounds and parks to raise money for the fight against cancer. To date, the program has raised more than $1.5 billion for the organization. More than three million Americans participate in these local events each year, as do people in 21 other countries around the world.

Now, the residents of an online world are getting in on the act, too. On Aug. 27 and 28, the American Cancer Society will hold its first Relay for Life in the 3D virtual world of Second Life. Instead of running around tracks in their hometowns, participants will guide their onscreen representatives (known as avatars) around a virtual track designed and displayed in cyberspace. Pledges will be made in Second Life's virtual currency, though they will be converted to dollars before being passed along to the cancer society."