Translating medical practice from the real to the virtual: adapting an existing clinical program to a virtual world

Communities of users are employing 3-D online virtual worlds for legitimate health related information exchange and social interaction. In order for care to be effectively delivered, the patient needs a transparent adaptation of real world practices into the virtual space. In this paper, we present our experience translating the clinical practice of teaching elicitation of the Relaxation Response in the real world to the virtual world Second Life. Process, challenges and outcome will be described.