Google still planning Second Life rival?

News - MMO rumours re-surface in Arizona

Search engine giant Google could still be plotting a virtual world 'game' of some kind, months after rumours persisted that the internet firm were busy working away on a secret project that may or may not have been tied with some form of in-world advertising component.

Fresh reports in today from Tech Crunch add further weight to conjecture bubbling away online, with the site reporting that the new service could be in testing at the Arizona State University.

Apparently, one Google blog is pointing to a new ASU program in which students will help test a new product, due out this year, related to social networking, 3D modeling and videogames. An application for the ASU scheme asks potential testers whether they have a Gmail account, or whether they would be willing to get one.

Reports suggest the product in question is called My World, while Google already possess various technological components that could help make this MMO 'game' a reality. Sketchup, for example, could aid in the creation of 3D models to use as in-game avatars.

Still, reports question how close to Second Life and other 'game-based' MMOs Google's eventual creation might be - some suggesting that a chat-based venture may be the limit of Google's ambitions thus far.

We'll keep you posted on this intriguing prospect none the less.