December 21, 2007
- Tea Cup Communication
December 21, 2007
Press Release
Tea Cup Communication Ltd.
Tea Cup Communication Launches Second Life Island Development Tool
Tokyo – December 21, 2007 – GMO Internet Group company, Tea Cup Communication, the operator of comprehensive Internet community site, teacup, today launches Island Builder. Island Builder, developed by Tea Cup Communication is a tool that creates buildings and streets for islands inside the Second Life virtual world. At the same time the company is seeking business partners in design and sales to contribute to the design of Island Builder facilities.
Island Builder
Island Builder is a low priced, fast design tool that makes it possible to visually plan a SecondLife island (65,536 square meters) using Excel. The user can automatically create roads, streetlights, offices, stores, appartments with furniture, and more.
The freedom to create roads, buildings, and furniture inside Second Life opens up millions of construction possibilities. An island in Second Life can only handle around 100 users at a time, however using Island Builder solves this problem by enabling a company to create dozens, or even hundreds of islands simultaneously. Island Builder is an ASP service.
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Island Builder Features
■Preview Before Construction
When a company that owns a Second Life island (an island is an Internet server) is planning the construction of a building or city, they can use Excel to try out various layouts, sceneries and designs. Once a design is settled on it can be automatically transferred as it is to the Second Life island. One island takes between thirty minutes to one hour to complete.
■Low Priced Fast Construction
The new service makes it possible to develop multiple islands quickly and more cheaply than by outsourcing to a design company or using in-house designers. It is also easy to make customizations and to reconstruct.
■Automatic Development of Appartment Buildings Containing up to 500 Households
Use Island Builder to provide up to 500 households* on one island. Companies can lease appartments to their users or provide them free of charge.
*Not at the same time. SecondLife specifications only allow 100 users can be on an island at one time.
Island Builder Fees (all prices are tax inclusive)
Standard Fees | Set Up Cost: ￥800,000 *including set up service |
Monthly Fees | ￥50,000 per island |
Design Change | ￥50,000 per change (entry and creation) |
Island Builder is currently being employed by SUN, Inc. SUN is using Island Builder to automatically create around 500 free furnished appartments available to registered members using the SUN Second Life cell phone viewer. Users that move into the free appartments can select from hundreds of items of furniture using a simple control panel that makes changing the interior design simple. We make every effort to provide the tools our users request. (Appartments provided free for the cell phone viewer are trial appartments with restricted furniture settings.)
Island Builder is positioned to become a core tool in the Second Life services offered by Tea Cup Communication. We will continue to develop street and building designs in accordance with user needs. The tool will be available to businesses and of course to teacup. community members.
Seeking Island Builder Building and Sales Partners
We are now seeking partners in production and sales in order to further improve the design of Island Builder facilities.
Tea Cup Communication is forming partnerships with design companies planning to enter Second Life in order to develop the Tea Cup Communication SecondLife virtual island, Japan* Resort as well as the brands of our partners.
*Japan Resort: Established September 1, 2007. This popular island receives the most traffic from Japan and the fifth most total traffic in Second Life.
Related Links (all links are to Japanese language sites unless otherwise indicated)
teacup: http://www.teacup.com/
Island Builder: http://www.teacup.com/sl/islandbuilder.html
Japan Resort: (inside Second Life URL )
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japan%20Resort/87/130/22/
Japan Resort Web Version: http://www.teacup.com/sl/
Terms of Service: http://www.teacup.com/sl/kiyaku.php
Sun, Inc: http://www.suninc.jp/
Island Builder: http://www.teacup.com/sl/islandbuilder.html
Japan Resort: (inside Second Life URL )
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japan%20Resort/87/130/22/
Japan Resort Web Version: http://www.teacup.com/sl/
Terms of Service: http://www.teacup.com/sl/kiyaku.php
Sun, Inc: http://www.suninc.jp/
Second Life Cell Phone Viewer: http://www.tokyozero.co.jp/viewer/index.html
Tea Cup Communication
Tea Cup Communication operates 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 (according to our own estimates 5/2007). The company began Second Life business development 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
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 and Internet advertising 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 |