Next week I'll be running a panel at the 2008 Politics Online Conference hosted by the Institute for Policy Democracy and the Internet. The Panel, Designing Outreach in Virtual Worlds, will include me, Ben Sawyer from the Serious Games Initiative, and Sue Singer from Linden Lab. The conference is March 4-5, and the panel is Tuesday, March 4 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Description after the jump, and you can register here.

Outreach is no longer something that occurs on Facebook or in the school gymnasium after a town hall meeting. Some elected officials are using online multi-player games, like Second Life, to reach constituents. Some associations and issue groups are developing persuasive games. This panel will provide an intimate look at developing and designing an outreach program for virtual.

The Politics Online Conference sits at the intersection of smart politics, good governance, transparent democracy, and innovative technology, spotlighting tools, applications, strategies, and ideas that affect a range of functions, from writing policy to organizing democratic movements to running a smarter political campaign to building dialogue with your constituents.