NASA has reportedly put out a Request for Information (RFI) for organizations interested in developing a platform for a Massively Multi player Online Game (MMO) aimed at students and would "simulate real Nasa engineering and science missions". According to the document "The MMO will foster career exploration opportunities in a much deeper way than reading alone would permit and at a fraction of the time and cost of an internship program." This is not the first time that a US agency has turned to such tactics, the US armed forces has produced and has maintained a first person shooter "America's Army" for a number of years as a recruiting tool and it is said to be "the most popular computer games in the world", of course it is a free download and of exceptional quality for a freebie. For NASA the MMO would not be it's first foray into virtual worlds as they maintain an Island in Second Life "where individuals and groups with an interest in the space programme can meet, share ideas and conduct experiments." The BBC has More here.
