AOL and OpenID

901am points to AOL's announcement that it is going to integrate OpenID into its 63 million user base.

From the announcement:

• "Every AOL/AIM user now has at least one OpenID URI, http://openid.aol.com/.
  
• This experimental OpenID 1.1 Provider service is available now and we are conducting compatibility tests.
• We're working with OpenID relying parties to resolve compatibility issues.
• Our blogging platform has enabled basic OpenID 1.1 in beta, so every beta blog URI is also a basic OpenID identifier. (No Yadis yet.)
• We don't yet accept OpenID identities within our products as a relying party, but we're actively working on it. That roll-out is likely to be gradual.
  
• We are tracking the OpenID 2.0 standardization effort and plan to support it after it becomes final."

From dev.aol:

"Another important point is that you can point at the AOL OpenID service from any web page you own in order to turn its URL into an OpenID. The minimal requirements are basically that you have some AOL or AIM account, and that you add a couple of links to your document's HEAD.

We added this to our blogs product in a few minutes minutes and it's in beta now. You can also support YADIS discovery which gives additional capabilities. See Sam Ruby's OpenID for non SuperUsers for a good summary."

From OpenID:

"OpenID is an open, decentralized, free framework for user-centric digital identity.

OpenID starts with the concept that anyone can identify themselves on the Internet the same way websites do-with a URI (also called a URL or web address). Since URIs are at the very core of Web architecture, they provide a solid foundation for user-centric identity."

AOL Pointe Island

More from the Sheep on AOL's Second Life build.

ESC: (Giff)

"This evening, AOL opened up the AOL Pointe island within Second Life for beta testing. If you are in the Counting Sheep group, you will be able to get to the island. This has been an intense project and we’re very proud to have worked with AOL/Time Warner."

AOL in Second Life: Jaymelina Esmele

AOL joins the rush into Second Life.

InfoWorld:

"The company's Second Life section will be called AOL Pointe. AOL is accepting applications now for the Pointe test program at the company's beta site.

With this, AOL will dip its toes in the virtual world space, which is generating a lot of buzz lately thanks to popular services like Linden Research's Second Life and Cyworld's Cyworld.

AOL Pointe will feature different sections, such as an amphitheater and an extreme sports park, in which the company plans to highlight AOL content and services like AOL Music, Moviefone, TMZ, and Lat34.com, an AOL spokeswoman said. AOL will use Pointe to also try out new features and research how they are received by users. The beta test will take place within Second Life and is slated to start in the next week or so, she said."

CNET:

""AOL is dipping its toes in the nascent virtual-worlds environment for research reasons, but we clearly don't consider this a significant project for the company," AOL corporate communications representative Jaymelina Esmele said.

The company expects AOL Pointe to have three main areas: an amphitheater, an extreme-sports park and something called Hollywood Pop-Land. Some of AOL's more popular brands, such as TMZ Productions and Lat34.com, will be highlighted in the virtual space."

Jaymelina, meet Susan.