Those of you Second Life’rs out there might have already seen this.

>California content developer Millions of Us recently wrapped up two months of in-world promotion for the auto maker, Mini Cooper. It was possibly the first time that attendees to its in-world events could win real life prizes, such as 80s Ninja super packs and leather jackets, and have them delivered to their homes.

>Millions of Us took a different tact, and instead of focusing on the car, the firm’s in-world events revolved around Internet Webisodes that Mini Cooper’s ad agency had created, featuring a “Starsky & Hutch” theme directed by Oscar nominee Todd Phillips. The “Hutch” character, played by Jim Turtledove, spent the series driving around in his trusty, talking Mini Cooper, overcoming villains and saving the nation.

Second life is a virtual world where you can be represented by an avatar and cruise around to hang out with your ‘virtual’ friends. This isn’t the first time an auto maker has used the community to promote something. Toyota, Nissan, Scion and Pontiac have all had ‘virtual’ parties inside with huge attendance.

[ Mini Cooper promotion wraps up in SL ] slnn.com