Cigna Healthcare is joining the ranks of other companies who have created a virtual presence within Second Life. We tried to find the virtual island within Second Life with no success, however you can visit Method the company that created the branded experience for Cigna and get an idea of what they designed for Cigna in this case study. (Cigna and Method may want to at least get the new destination logged in the Second Life search system to make it easier for people to find)

Previously we have seen companies like IBM, Sears, and CNN to name a few branch into the realm of Virtual Reality and second lives. Cigna, like the others, cites a desire to reach demographics which might not otherwise be connected with via traditional communication mediums. From the Cigna press release:

“As a health service company, we are always looking for new and creative ways to reach people with important messages about living a healthy and productive life,” said Keith Dixon, Ph.D., president of CIGNA’s health solutions unit. “With a social interactivity that extends beyond geographic boundaries, and an exciting and appealing visual experience, CIGNA’s virtual community enables us to reach an entirely new group of people that might not respond to health education messages delivered through more traditional channels.”

The full press release from Cigna can be found here.

This is not the first time that Cigna has taken advantage of branded gaming. The company previously released a game titled “Re-Mission” to assist in teaching youth about cancer. The game which was developed in coordination with HopeLab, allowed users to play as a cancer cell destroying nanobot.

Cigna’s efforts are an excellent use of Second Life for creating something productive and beneficial to users in their first lives. Perhaps in a couple monthx Method and Cigna will be able to provide some data on what the efforts in Second Life end up doing for awareness of the Cigna brand.