Dear Thereians,

Today, we come to a sad reality – There.com is shutting down.

We feel for you and our community will give you a warm welcome in Twinity. We’ve already seen a lot of you in-world and it has been fun getting to know you. Have a look at Twinity for yourself by downloading our installer here.

We engaged in a lot of discussions and know you are interested to hear what Twinity can offer you. For all of you interested to find a new home in Twinity we’d like to offer you the following Welcome Package.

1) We know many of you had some money in There. During our tutorial everyone receives 950 globals as a bonus to buy neat outfits or any other item in our shops or to rent a place. On top of that, you will get another 1000 globals starting pocket money! All you need to do is join Twinity free and join our “1000 Globals Welcome Package” group; we will then reward you with the globals in your wallet.

2) If you have big plans and want to build or contribute creatively, we have a special offer for all new members joining in March. Simply go into your profile and upgrade to premium membership and you’ll enjoy free premium membership until the end of 2011! As a premium member you can…

* create and upload your own 3D models and items
* upload textures, or your own 3d meshes and animations (Max, Blender, etc)
* design your own clothes using predefined 3D models and 2D textures
* sell items for globals
* use free VoIP
* and much more.

But giving you developers, neighborhood owners and active community members the tools is only halfway there! So we’ll be holding special info and tutorial sessions on how to upload 3D models, create shops or throw your own events in Twinity. On top of that, we’ll provide you with information, materials and grid patterns that can be changed with Collada editors and uploaded directly to Twinity. Plus, we will have special meet’n’greet events with our team, so you can get a view from behind the scene.

We hope this will give you a good start in our growing global community. Give it a try, just look for some new friends, and we’re sure you will find them in no time. Or, meet your old pals in the There.com Lounge. Feel free to invite former friends from There.com to come join you in Twinity. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our support team at support[at]twinity.com.

Welcome & have fun,

Your Twinity Team

P.S.: Looking to take your Twinity experience even further commercially? Send us an email at partner[at]twinity.com!

You may have noticed the Welcome Area, the tutorial tasks and the suggestion to visit the Altes Museum in Twinity. Why? To see Remap Berlin, of course!

While shooting Phebe’s picture Al went by and we asked him to let us take a picture of him! He is another cool newbie joining the Twinity Family and we hope he stays long time!

Phebe arrived yesterday to Twinity but she has already visited the Reichstag and has got her Twinity T-shirt! Welcome!

Koinup has covered the opening of the Dardo Photography Gallery in Twinity.

A mirror world like Twinity is a perfect venue for art like this. Just give the Twinity client some time to load the pictures; you’ll enjoy the result!

Here’s the Dardo Gallery in-world.

Posted on Koinup.

2010 hasn’t been the most endearing of years. While the real world has teetered on economic and natural disasters, its many virtual counterparts haven’t been spared either. The year began with the closure of Metaplace.com, and as March begins to take hold, There.com, a visionary in the virtual world’s space will also cease to exist. That is just sad to hear.

There.com has influenced virtual worlds across the web. While Twinity has remained grounded in real life cities, many other options and features have been inspired by There.com.

Yet features and options are just a part of a virtual world, for what really makes anywhere ‘home’, is the people and the community that surround it. In its decade long run, There was able to amass a loyal community, one which thrived on creation and interaction. These people and their avatars will, in one fell swoop, lose their homes. Will all the time and effort they spent in customizing and building, conversing and befriending, be lost on the internet?

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

* What will happen to the community, what will be missed the most?

* What will the community be looking for in other virtual worlds?

* Can Twinity serve as a new home?

Just comment here, on our facebook page or come to the special inworld event today at 6 pm CET.

Looking for performances by artists in Twinity. Look no further than the Vancouver Pavilion! Here’s the location in-world.

Metaversum is offering a traineeship as User Interface Artist / Graphical Designer.

You have UI experience, excellent graphic design skills, a passion for social platforms, games, 3D online worlds and and an eye for detail.  Read here what more it takes to become a User Interinterface Artist at Metaversum.

Please submit your portfolio along with your resume to jobs@metaversum.com.
Subject: Intern Product Marketing: User Interface Artist / Graphical Designer

Read the full job advertisement here.

From the Twinity Times, some feedback on the new welcome area.

Longtime users of Twinity were in for a major surprise last week when they logged in and were faced with a new beginner’s tutorial, social ranking system, enhanced menus, and above all, a brand spanking new Welcome Area…

To say that I was impressed by the changes would be an understatement– I was positively floored.

There’s some other great feedback there. Thanks for that!