Sun Microsystems announced today that they are going to enter the online virtual world known as Second Life, and will mark their presence by presenting what they are calling the first press conference to be held in Second Life by a Fortune 500 company.

The press conference will mark the opening of the virtual Sun Pavilion, and will be hosted by John Gage, Sun's Chief Researcher, in avatar from. One topic will be the company's foray into Second Life, and why Sun think sit is important to be part of the massive online community.

Specifically, Sun says that Gage will talk about opportunities for "experimentation with new forms of communication, collaboration and economic activity in the virtual world." Also on hand for the press conference will be Chris Melissinos, the chief gaming officer for Sun, and Philip Linden, the CEO of Linden Lab, the company that created Second Life.

There will be a Q&A session with the press conference speakers, after which visitors will be able to tour the virtual facility and chat one-on-one with the featured guests. The event is scheduled to happen on 10 October at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

Second Life, which lets users create a virtual version of themselves and roam around a digital world, launched in June of 2003.

Since then, several big-name organizations, including Adidas, American Apparel, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have established a presence witin the online community. Registration is free, but there are premium membership packages available, and the virtual currency used to purchase items online must be exchanged with real money.