Mazda’s latest concept car, Mazda Hakaze, is now available for driving in cyberspace on Nagare Island at Second Life.  By launching its latest show car in virtual form, Mazda Motor Europe is responding to the very positive reaction to Mazda’s trilogy of concepts shown around the world last year. Mazda Senku, Kabura and Sassou were so popular, in fact, that people wanted to buy and drive them as soon as possible. With a single concept car, this has never been possible of course, so Mazda Motor Europe has done the next best thing. Mazda Hakaze is now available to the almost 3 million Second Life residents to drive and own.

Experience Mazda Hakaze at Second Life

With the official launch of the cyberspace version of Mazda Hakaze, people from around the globe now have the chance to experience some of the concept’s attributes in virtual reality. After free registration at SecondLife.com and downloading the appropriate software, cyber pilots can teleport to Nagare Island where the Mazda Hakaze will appear on a platform. It duplicates itself and they can then drive the design concept on a challenging test track around the island that includes a difficult jump. If they master this jump, and demonstrate they are competent to drive the car, they get to keep it.

Mazda Introduces Kite-surfing to Second Life

But residents can do more than just drive. The cyber-Hakaze also comes with a virtual kite-surfing board in the back. This can be taken out and used, after downloading some animations, for doing basic moves with the board – basic because Mazda wants the inhabitants of Second Life to use their creative talent and develop additional kite-surfing tricks and share them with the community.

Cruising down to the beach, taking out the board and having a go at kite-surfing in cyberspace – a new sport to Second Life – and maybe even inventing a new move or two, all this promises to be a fun way to get to know Mazda’s compact crossover concept with roadster feel.

Kite-board Design Contest

Those Second Life residents, who have mastered the jump at Nagare Island and own a car, are eligible to participate in a design competition with a real, First Life prize to be won. Participants can download a kite-board with nothing on it, then decorate both sides with their own Zoom-Zoom design and send it to Mazda Motor Europe. The contest will last from 16 February to 4 March 2007 and the best designs will be put online at Nagare Island, where visitors can vote for their favourite design. A single winner will then be announced in March and receive a statue of his or her avatar, which will hold a facsimile of the board with the winning design on it.