The aim of the Inter-Life Project was to investigate the use of virtual worlds to support transition skills development for young people to enhance their management of important life transitions. In particular, we have been investigating the role of the ‘Inter-Life’ virtual worlds in supporting the development of life transition skills in young people, some of whom were in the care of local authorities, and others in
more widely distributed communities (Connelly and Chakrabarti, 2008). The Inter-Life project created an embryonic Virtual Social Research Laboratory in order tostudy how young people can use a virtual world creatively, working together asa research community to develop skills that will help them navigate their key lifetransitions (see the Inter-Life video at http://www.tlrp.org/tel/). The project focused
on how participants acted and develop in Inter-Life, while engaged in co-designed creative and research activities. It also examined how the skills and understandingsacquired ‘map’ onto their ‘real world’ experience. The project environments (basedupon the commercial platform ‘Second Life’) incorporated ‘in-world’ data gathering
tools (not the same as the ‘transition tools’ created for the participants’ use) that support content analysis. Such data, collected in an unobtrusive manner, supported the analysis of complex activities in the virtual world (Sclater and Lally, 2009; Lally and Sclater 2010), supported by Activity Theory. The skills acquired, and the development of identities as young people engage in shared activities, are being
reported and analysed. The discussion concludes by asserting the need for much more investigation of the potential of augmented 3D digital technologies to assist young people in the social, emotional, and political challenges of transition in their lives.