“In 10 years, it will be as normal to navigate in and between virtual worlds as it is to open a Web site today. The new module will ensure our students are at the forefront of technology and are fully equipped with the skills they will need in future," says Ferdinand Francino, (extreme right) the course designer on the university Web site.

The course will teach students all elements required to get a VW up and running. These include hosting, managing and creating real estate, and user interactivity. The course will be taught for now in class but could also be supplemented by elements in Second Life and will also use OpenSim.

The university is already active in Second Life. A number of its schools use Second Life for visualisation, clinical training, support, and training on a virtual x-ray machine.

Schools that use the virtual element include the School of Engineering and Computing, the School of Nursery, Midwifery and Community Health, and the School of Health and Social Care. 3D Internet Virtual Worlds is open to fourth-year students and will be taught in lectures and in practical workshops and evening classes.

The university has already created a replica campus,CUthere on Second Life where students can, for example, work with virtual patients in a virtual hospital ward to hone their nursing skills, access virtual X-ray equipment, meet tutors, and showcase their designs,

Prospective students can chat to mentors online to find out more about student life. Future Second Life projects will, for example, allow students to establish virtual businesses and let visual sciences students explore the human eye by 'going inside' a virtual eye and learning to diagnose visual problems.