In an effort to raise awareness and to ramp up its environmental campaigns, World Wildlife Fund or WWF bought some virtual land in Second Life and named it "Conservation Island". The island will be populated by different animal avatars and the objective, according to WWF, is to teach human avatars how to live in harmony with nature.

"WWF set up the island as a way to help people learn about conservation issues and the need to live sustainably. We want to be able to show people that WWF has solutions to the real environmental issues affecting their 'first life', commented WWF International Online Outreach Manager David Cole.

One avatar SL residents will meet in the island is Mr. Tangee. He's a scruffy looking orangutan that can be found in an ice cream van. His purpose is to let people know that the total number of plantations producing soy and palm oil that are being used in ice creams, cosmetics, and chocolate bars now cover an area the size of France.

This, of course, threatens his kind because most of his natural habitat are being converted to industrial areas. Another notable character is a panda that guides visitors around the wind-powered local town and chats about environmental issues.