I just got done doing the AIDS walk in San Francisco this month, and it just reinforced my conviction that the more education we provide for kids the better.

So many lives lost because of ignorance.

I had a human sexuality professor tell me once that America is the most sex-negative society in the world, while at the same time it is the most eroticised.

Kids are getting the worst kind of mixed message about sex: "everyone wants it, but everyone is bad."

Kids need to know how normal their urges are, how universal sexual curiosity is and how to protect themselves when they inevitably try to satisfy that curiosity. No amount of abstinence preaching is gonna change the fact that teens are horny little animals. Why are we shaming them for being human?

Okay, I havne't been there since somebody made a pass at me and I freaked out. When they come up with a virtual wedding ring and work out some speed issues, I'll go back. But the concept is astounding. Ever since the first time I read "Snow Crash", I've been wondering how long it would be before we saw something like this. Right now it's mostly a social site, but I can't wait until we can go to Second Life universities, and sit in classrooms with students from all over the world being taught by real experts in the field. The Daily Kos conference is already being duplicated in Second Life. Is it the same as really being there? Probably not, but if you can't afford the air fare, time off work, and hotel expenses, it's a pretty good option. Second life will open up entire new opportunities... how about virtual meetings with avatars instead of speaker phones? What about being able to go on-line and visit a virtual doctor?

This is a terrific use of Second Life resources. I'm just glad that it's originating in the UK. I don't even want to think about what our administration would do to promote sex ed in the virtual world.

While 2nd Life stories generally fill me with creeping dread (I'm kinda partial to the real world), I agree that this is a pretty good solution to sex ed. One of the key reasons is the "hypothetical" nature of 2nd Life.

To highlight something LydiaS mentioned, America is perhaps the most sex-negative AND most eroticized culture. I'm not sure we're #1, but you can see the dilemma anyway. I'd guess 2nd Life provides a virtual outlet where sex can be explored without the real world repercussions, like a flight simulator spares aspiring pilots the crashes.

The danger, that experimentation will lead to something approaching addiction (a la your morning coffee, or a pack of cigarettes), is partially mitigated by the dissonance created when you locate a physical act in a non-physical space.

Our sex-ed teachers were our PE teachers and nurses from the community. One year the nurse was my crush's mom/church youth group leader. So after showing us loads of worthless video (one entitled "Hygeine for Girls" that consisted almost entirely of tips on nail polish) they would always ask if we had any questions. Surprise! Nobody ever had any questions. Wonder why that might be...

My point, and I do have one. This program allows kids to explore without having to go to a scary adult with their questions. I think that's a useful tool.

Having taught sex-ed to fifth graders, I think the Second Life option is a great idea. I don't think it's going to replace traditional sex-ed in America--too "virtually" scary for parents who don't understand cyberspace. But I'd bet that if it was available for all teenagers, free of charge, they'd go check it out on their own.

Just one tip if you're teaching sex-ed, have kids write their questions on slips of paper to submit to a "bucket." The teacher then pulls the questions out at random and answers them. This guards the annonymity of the students yet still answers a lot of their questions. And, as one poster pointed out, kids don't want to ask questions out loud at the end of the video. You'd be amazed by the touching, innocent things they want to know!

Screened by an avatar, as in Second Life, I feel kids will have a safe environment in which to explore real questions and situations. Hopefully, this experience will be monitored carefully by moderators so everyone feels secure.

Great idea England and Second Life!

Staff from Plymouth University in Devon, UK, are Maged N. Kamel Boulos (Senior Lecturer in Health Informatics, and originally a medic/venereologist) and Steve Wheeler (Senior Lecturer in ICT in Education).

The project is funded by SL Education UK: http://www.sleducationuk.net/?q=node/14

The project proposal can be found at (zipped PDF): http://healthcybermap.org/MNKB-et-al_SexualHealthSIM.zip

interestingly enough, you can actually get pregnant in Second Life too. There has been male avatars who have chosen to get pregnant to see how it would feel like or to experience what their partners are going through. I think this would be a valid addition to the sex-ed classes.