Virtual cemeteries promise life everlasting


There may be no return from the grave, but what about remaining virtually alive?



Computer and funeral experts in Vancouver are hailing Microsoft's move into the field of "immortal computing."



"I think it's going to be quite successful," said Giuseppe Carenini, assistant professor of computer science at the University of B.C.

"People are going to prepare their own book or their own memorial. It is going to be with pictures, with writing, with songs."

Carenini said it's possible people may no longer have their bodies stored in a specific place, but remain in a virtual cemetery.

When friends and relatives visit, they would leave their thoughts, not flowers.



Another issue is how to power the interface. One option is to use alternative energy such as thermal or inductive power.

Glen Hodges, who runs Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, said he likes the idea of the world being able to access a dead person's life.

"I think it's great," he said. "It just adds another layer to the possibilities."

The cemetery will always be a choice for people who want the environment and a piece of stone.

Walter Johanson, who runs the Memorial Society of B.C., a funeral consumer group, said virtual cemeteries might prove popular with people who choose to have their ashes scattered.

"You have these remains scattered somewhere, but there's no sense of place, that this is a sacred place for this person," he said.

Johanson, a former pastor, wondered how an electronic memorial will endure, since park benches and gravestones don't last forever.

"It's just another way of spending money," he said. "There's no one around anymore to remember the deceased.

"A few generations down the line, we're forgotten."



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