Coke promotes itself in a virtual world

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: Coca-Cola lovers will have a new place to hang out, and it is an island on the Internet that is shaped like a Coke bottle.

At CC Metro, the name of the island, visitors can set up a virtual alter ego known as an avatar, which can then shop and dance at the Coca-Cola diner, visit a movie theater to watch short films and soar around on a hoverboard like the one in the 1989 movie, Back to the Future Part II. Coke is introducing its online island within a larger virtual world site called there.com that tries to filter out unsavoury content. The company that operates there.com, Makena Technologies, uses software to censor user postings for foul language and employs a team of people to filter out content that might infringe on copyrights or fall outside a PG-13 rating. Makena, of San Mateo, California, says that these practices make its site desirable to advertisers.

At CC Metro, Coca-Cola customers can buy clothing and accessories for their avatars using reward points culled from codes on Coke bottle caps, which can also be used at mycokerewards.com. Customers can dress up their avatars as they move them around the island.

Coke was an early mover in the realm of virtual worlds, viewing them as ways to engage their customers and build their brands. Five years ago, it opened a world called Coke Studios on myCoke.com.

A number of consumer brands are designing virtual worlds that may resemble Coke’s new island, said Reuben Steiger, the chief executive of Millions of Us, an advertising agency that focuses on virtual worlds.