The Open Metaverse Foundation is a non-profit organization founded with the mandate of developing open technologies and open-source software related to the metaverse and virtual worlds. The OMF provides support and guidance to selected projects that espouse the principles of the foundation.

Open Metaverse Foundation Announces New Second Life Viewer

Today the Open Metaverse Foundation released Meerkat, a free viewer compatible with Second Life and open source virtual worlds. "Meerkat will leverage the knowledge and skills of the open source community and leading virtual world firms to advance the platform," said James Neal, President of the Open Metaverse Foundation. "Our goal is to expand the scope of metaverse development."

In an accompanying white paper, the foundation argues that the application of open source practices allows more agility in accepting software contributions.

Meerkat includes tools for people who build objects and environments in Second Life and other virtual worlds, and an inter-grid "teleport" that takes users from one virtual world environment to another in a decentralized fashion. "We want to offer an alternative to centrally controlled architecture," said Project Maintainer Jason Giglio. "People need to have the freedom to choose whether to manage their identity themselves, or to participate in a more centralized system."

Visit meerkatviewer.org for the latest news, releases and information about Meerkat.