EA to host GLAAD panel on Homophobia in gaming

Electronic Arts passed along a quick note to let us know that it is hosting a roundtable discussion for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called “Homophobia in Virtual Communities - Highlighting the Problem and Working Towards Sustainable Solutions.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on July 18th from 11am - 1pm at its Redwood City, CA location (50 Shoreline Drive Redwood City, CA 94065).

The point of the event is to address ongoing concerns that GLAAD members and the gaming community have had concerning how companies handle cases of discrimination both from gamers and game companies. You may recall that Xbox Live has had some challenges in dealing with how it handles gamertags and harassment on its Xbox Live service. No doubt these growing pains have put the issues into the public eye.

While EA is hosting the event, plenty of other company’s organazations and indivuals will take part including Flynn DeMarco (Alias: Fruite Brute), Founder of GayGamer.net; Dan Hewitt, Senior Director of Communications & Industry Affairs for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA); Caryl Shaw, Senior Producer in the Maxis Studio (Electronic Arts); Cyn Skyberg, VP of Customer Relations at Linden Lab; and Stephen Toulouse (Gamertag: stepto), Program Manager for Policy and Enforcement on Microsoft’s XBox LIVE. the event will be moderated by GLAAD Director of Digital & Online Media, Justin Cole.

More information can be found at www.glaad.org/digitalevent.

Tom Hale Joins Linden Lab

Second Life creator Linden Lab today announced that former Adobe executive Tom Hale has joined the company as Chief Product Officer. Hale brings with him over 15 years of experience in product development, marketing and management, having most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Knowledge Worker Business Unit at Adobe Systems.

He’ll report directly to Linden Lab CEO, Mark Kingdon and will be responsible for driving the product strategy and business for Second Life.

Happy Birthday, Second Life

Second Life, the MMO game that isn’t quite a game, but serious business to some, has turned five years old today, announced Linden Lab. A lot has happened to the virtual world created by Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003.

To celebrate one million registered users and the five years of being alive, Linden Lab will launch a two-week long Virtual World Fair - complete with virtual fairgrounds, roundtable discussions, parties and exhibits the show off the creativity of residents. The event will be held in various regions in Second Life and will take place from June 23 - July 7, 2008.