+Spaces: Intelligent Virtual Spaces for eGovernment

Intelligent Environments most commonly take a physical form such as homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, shops, that are equipped with advanced networked computer based systems, which enable better or new lifestyles for people. However, Intelligent Environments can also take the form of virtual online spaces such as SecondLife, which can both mimic the real world and provide functionalities which could not be provided in reality, such as advanced simulations and movement. There is the growing trend for people to spend more time in such virtual environments and, to these ends, this work in progress paper reports on a new project, +Spaces which is developing a range of virtual world tools for e-government applications, and presents some of the concepts and technical challenges involved in creating these intelligent virtual spaces for e-government.