Lancia is once again making use of all the web’s interactive potential to communicate its values; and the appointment is for today at 6PM at the Lancia Village, the Lancia island on Second Life.

Lancia is once again making use of all the web’s interactive potential to communicate its values. The appointment is for today (Friday 25 January 2008) at the Lancia Village, the Lancia island on Second Life.

An island with the unmistakable shape of Italy for a brand that not only contributes to the circulation of Italian-made goods in the real world, but now, with elegance and determination, occupies a place in the virtual world as well.

The island’s architecture reflects the values and attitude of Lancia cars, an elaborate space constructed by experts, a place where the brand is revealed to visitors from an amusing new viewpoint.

The island will be opened at 6 p.m. at a press conference reserved for journalists who will be able to discover all the secrets of the Lancia Village and what events are scheduled on the island in upcoming months. Welcoming them will be the 5 exclusive buildings (Reception, Showroom, Multi-Theatre, Glass Bubble and Lancia Cafè) and 4 Group cars (Ypsilon, Musa, Phedra and Thesis), realised in a definition never previously achieved on SL.

This unconventional press conference goes beyond the virtual walls of the Conference Room and we move outside after the initial “corporate” presentation. We fly or are teletransported to the Drive-In, our first stop-off to watch the U2 video from their concert in Cape Town produced by 46664, the worldwide campaign against HIV promoted by Nelson Mandela. Journalists will then be taken on a visit to the Showroom and, one by one, all the buildings on the island. At the end of the press conference, guests will have time to get back to the disco party at 10 p.m. at the Glass Bubble to which all Second Life residents have been invited.

The avatars of Lancia manager Maurizio Oconnel and Black Angel, the angel with the black wings, the alter ego of the winged lady in the YSMD commercial with Stefano Gabbana and leitmotiv of Lancia advertising, will accompany users on their discovery of the island. The meeting will also provide the opportunity to preview the 2008 concerts which will occupy the Drive-In area week after week and will have internationally known artistes such as Zucchero, Peter Gabriel, Queen and Beyoncé topping the bill.

But that is not all. Until 25 February users will be able to take part in the video-photo contest Show Your Lancia on Second Life: the most original videos and photos having a Lancia car as the subject will receive generous prizes in L$ (Linden Dollars, the official currency of SL) during the exclusive party at the Lancia Villlage.

When? March 3, the date when a new Lancia will be previewed in the virtual world, for the first time in history. The model is the eagerly awaited Delta, which will be presented at the Lancia Village on Second Life 24 hours before taking its bow in the real world at the Geneva Motor Show. The Lancia Village has been designed and built by Testawebedv.