I agree--not obvious what's open source about this venture. The Second Life grid interface, or whatever you want to call it, is open source in the sense that other entities can create their own viewers, and have done so. Building things in Second Life is open to all residents (with some restrictions depending on where you are, the number of objects you're creating per unit of land area, etc.), but I don't see how being free to build counts as "open source."

There's very elaborate and creative work being done in Second Life--fabulous architecture, for one thing, and lots of fanciful art. The virtual museum workshop may be another instance.

Hi Brian,
Thanks for writing about The Tech.
The exhibits that were part of this competition round are virtual prototypes created in Second Life by participants in our program. The exhibits are virtual for now, but at least 2 of them are planned to be added to the new Tech Awards Gallery opening in early 2009.

The program is a collaborative online workshop where creative people develop museum exhibits. It is known as our "open source" project because the content is licensed to museums that use the conceps through a Creative Commons Attribution license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

By doing so, museums worldwide will be able to have a more open exhibit design process, gaining input from a large talent base of experts and creative people who otherwise would be unable to participate in these very public spaces.

Please drop by and join us online at http://www.thetechvirtual.org or in Second Life at http://tinyurl.com/thetechvirtual
-Bob Ketner
The Tech
Virtual Community Manager