Joining a list of other higher education institutions, including Stanford and Harvard, Columbia purchased a virtual island in Second Life, a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) populated by over five million registered users. Columbia used the virtual land to host a nine-story exhibition center that presented student films, time-based work and other interactive art in conjunction with the end-of-the-year urban arts festival, Manifest.

The project, dubbed Manifest SL, was sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs and headed by the Department of Interactive Arts and Media—which added a degree in game design in the spring of 2006.

Second Life is a three-dimensional virtual world where users create an avatar—a digital alter ego—and interact with others in a digital reality. The game also has a commerce component, conducted via the in-game unit of trade, the Linden dollar, which can be exchanged to U.S. dollars at online Linden dollar exchanges. In addition to the exhibition, Columbia activities “in world” have included publication of The Columbia Chronicle and a Spectacle Fortuna parade of costumed avatars.