City of Decatur Planning Virtual World

The City of Decatur is currently in the planning stages to create a virtual version of the city. Inspired by the popularity of games like World of Warcraft and Second Life, this multi-player, online world is intended to "encourage community networking, improve civic engagement, and promote economic development in the city," according to the city's government services website.

The world will be designed to serve residents, businesses and visitors. The city imagines that the world will include multimedia features like streaming video of real world public meetings with opportunities for residents to chat and comment about the proceedings, coupons for local businesses, resources for visitors and more.

The project is in the early planning stages and the City of Decatur is currently accepting proposals from technology companies to assess the feasibility of this "virtual Decatur."