Blue Mars is entering its open beta. For those who have not been following it, I’d describe it as a contemporary take on the There.com model more than a Second Life style environment — brand partnerships, high quality graphics, aimed at adult social interaction. They do have a developer program, however, so there is content creation capability for those who enter the program. As a result, it’s gotten most of its buzz from within the Second Life community to date.

Blue Mars is a free to play massively multiplayer virtual world featuring stunning graphics, realistic characters, and endless social bonding activities. The Blue Mars virtual world is made up of an expanding set of independently operated cities that feature unique themes, activities, and attractions such as shopping, avatar customization, unique personal spaces, and games like dancing, racing, and golf. Cites on Blue Mars are tied together with a unified login system, persistent global Avatar ID, and platform wide participation based reward system that encourages users to explore, play, and make new friends.