The New Media Consortium announced today that it is entering into a partnership with Sun Microsystems to form “The Virtual Worlds Project.” Here’s the best part:

In launching the Open Virtual Worlds project, the NMC will build on its extensive presence in Second Life and add to the services it offers educational institutions with a suite of services aimed at those who need a secure extensible platform or simply prefer an open solution. Open Virtual Worlds will be a new project housed within NMC Virtual Worlds, along with its extensive Second Life project.

Read the rest of this news item and see the video here .

The idea of an open secure solution and something that is scalable is really exciting for Community Colleges and smaller edu’s that are looking for more portable solutions or just want to try virtual world education on a smaller scale. Love the NMC!