Figure 12

Snapshot of Play2Train in Second Life. Play2Train is a US federally-funded bioterrorism preparedness virtual training space in Second Life designed to support Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), Simple Triage Rapid Transportation (START), Risk Communication and Incident Command System (ICS) Training. This virtual environment spreads over two islands in Second Life, Asterix and Obelix (65,536 × 2 square metres and not open to public access), with one island dedicated to a virtual town and the other a virtual hospital. The design of this virtual environment is influenced by dioramas frequently used by emergency services to support their tabletop exercises [34]. Play2Train has been used in an Alternative Care Facility Mobile Quarantine and Healthcare Facility 'Sidewalk Triage' for a simulated avian flu pandemic. Similar technologies can be used to develop real-time emergency/public health situation rooms in the bridged mirror and virtual worlds, especially with the advent of virtual world features like sculpted prims, improved physics and 'HTML on a Prim' in Second Life [63] and application/desktop sharing in Sun's MPK-20 [64].