Linden Lab the creators of the popular virtual world Second Life, has announced the acquisition of technology from Windward Mark Interactive, a graphics technology firm founded in 2003 by five Harvard University students looking for "a better way to create real-time worlds."
As part of the acquisition, Linden Lab adds that it will acquire the developer's atmospheric rendering technology WindLight, and Nimble, a realistic 3D cloud simulator, as well as associated intellectual property and interests. The company further notes that once the acquisition is complete, it plans to make available Windward Mark's graphics technology through open source channels, and integrate it into the Second Life Viewer software, bringing added visual fidelity to the popular MMO.
