September 6, 2007
- Tea Cup Communication
September 6, 2007
Press Release
Tea Cup Communication Ltd.
Tea Cup Communication Launches New Land Sales Technology for Second Life
Tokyo – September 6, 2007 – GMO Internet Group company Tea Cup Communication, the company that operates the comprehensive Internet community, teacup, has successfully developed technology that fully automates the administration of land (3D servers) from creation through to sale in the virtual world Second Life. Land using this technology goes on sale today.
Tea Cup Communication has developed our own 3D middleware technology for the sale of partitioned land. The new technology provides an almost completely automated system for the creation, sale and billing of land. Automated transactions reduce labor costs and make it possible to sell partitioned land at prices comparable to those of other countries.
Six virtual islands operated by Tea Cup Communication (approx. 120 partitions) will launch land sales in Second Life. These include the island with the highest Japan traffic in the virtual world (9/2007), Japan Resort and its sister island Japan Sea Side.
Prices for regular land partitions of 512 square meters (including a “skytown” of the same size) begin at 1,600 yen (a monthly 750 yen maintenance fee applies). Purchased land may be used for commercial pursuits inside Second Life or as residential space. The most expensive space up for sale is 4,096 square meters for 12,400 yen (monthly maintenance fee: 3,300 yen). We also offer land packages for businesses looking to enter Second Life. Prices begin at 50,000 yen a month for locations guaranteed to attract customers and receive high exposure.
The land contract is not handled by the company that operates Second Life Linden Lab but by Japanese company Tea Cup Communication. This means that customers can keep using their free Second Life account and make land payments to a local Japanese company. We believe that this service will boost Second Life participation in Japan.
Tea Cup Communication expects automatic land processing to increase both users and buyers. In order to ensure continued future Second Life exposure we have secured an area containing 700 islands, this is the largest area held by a Japanese company inside Second Life. We are planning to provide comprehensive support services to businesses in SecondLife, including businesses setting up inside Second Life for the first time. We offer the marketing power of Japan Resort, second to none in the Japanese market as well as prime land and the automation technology for large-scale partitioned land sales.
Related Links (All links are to Japanese language web sites unless otherwise indicated)
teacup: www.teacup.com
Japan Resort (Second Life URL): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japan%20Resort/87/130/22/
Japan Sea Side (Second Life URL): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japan%20Sea%20Side/
Terms of Use: http://www.teacup.com/sl/kiyaku.php
3D Middleware Technology
We have developed specialized 3D middleware that integrates with existing web technology. For example land can be automatically created and objects installed in a 3D area in accordance with a town plan created in Excel. Because the creation and building process requires no human input, extraordinarily accurate and attractive lands can be formed in a matter of minutes. Creating a flexible, low-cost land pattern that meets the needs of your business is easy because customizing the space is as easy as making corrections to the plans in Excel. In addition we are now in the process of establishing a centralized remote management. We plan to make available our combination of, advanced LSL (Linden scripting language) and web technology to anyone who wants to establish a business inside Second Life.
Japan Resort
Japan Resort is a beach island aimed at Japanese users. It offers a comfortable natural environment for relaxing with friends. In line with Linden Lab policy doors are being opened to welcome international users including users from Europe, America and Brazil. On September 1 the island ranked number one in Japanese user traffic and was the 5th most popular island inside Second Life.
Tea Cup Communication
Tea Cup Communication provides operation and construction management of the portal site teacup along with Internet tools for individuals including rental bulletin boards, rental chat rooms, rental blogs and online stores There are currently around 2.4 million teacup members. The comprehensive Internet community is one of the largest in Japan boasting around 7.8 million unique users* per month (NetRatings 5/2007) and 18.8 million page views** per day (NetRatings 5/2007). We entered the Second Life business in March 2007.
* Unique user: the number of users that access a website within a specified period of time.
**Page Views: A method of measuring the number of times a website is accessed.
Media Inquiries
Tea Cup Communication Public Relations
E-mail：[email protected]
GMO Internet Inc. Group PR Team
E-mail: [email protected]
The GMO Internet Group
The GMO Internet Group is a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services in Japan. We hold top domestic market shares in domain registration, web hosting and payment processing and we provide a host of other services including e-commerce solutions, Internet advertising and online securities trading to individual and corporate customers. Striving to redefine the industry and foster a vibrant Internet culture, the GMO Internet Group is continuously working to inspire enthusiasm in our customers and put smiles on their faces.
Tea Cup Communication Ltd.
Company Name | Tea Cup Communication Ltd. http://www.teacup.com/ |
Address | Meisei Building, 8-9 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN |
CEO | Tomoyuki Ishikawa |
Business Description | ■Design and management of Internet communication services ■Internet Advertising ■Planning, design, implementation and operation of Internet information systems and communication networks. |
Capital | ￥71,000,000 |
GMO Internet Inc.
Company Name | GMO Internet Inc. http://www.gmo.jp/en (TSE First Section Code: 9449) |
Address | Cerulean Tower, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya ku, Tokyo, JAPAN |
CEO | Masatoshi Kumagai |
Business Description | ■Internet Use Support (Infrastructure) ■Internet Advertising Support (Media) |
Capital | ￥9,651,750,000 |