Rep. Markey, who serves as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunication and the Internet, chaired the first ever Congressional hearing simulcast in an Internet-based virtual world on April 1, 2008. The hearing, entitled “Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium”, included testimony by the founder of Second Life, a virtual world, as well as testimony from witnesses representing non-profit, educational, and commercial applications and interests.

For more information about the hearing, read Rep. Markey's opening statement HERE.