Virtual Hills

This season of The Hills on MTV has wrapped up, but viewers don't have to go through Lauren and Heidi withdrawl. MTV has recently created a virtual world where people can shop, dance, and go to fashion shows with their favorite Hills girls. The world can be accessed at http://content.vlb.mtv.com/mtv_central/index.html . The virtual world is interesting because you can teleport to a variety of locations that are in the show (and real life). One of the most interesting places is Area nightclub. The nightclub opened this year and Heidi often works at the door. In almost every episode of The Hills, the girls go to the glamourous nightclub. The club gets publicity and girls all over the country want to party in the place that Lauren and Heidi do. In the virtual world, underage girls can get into the nightclub and experience what celebrities experience. This generates more buzz about the club. I recently overheard a friend talking about her upcoming semester in Los Angeles with Ithaca College. She talked about how cool it would be to visit Area and see Heidi and Lauren. The product placement on the show and in the virtual world generates excitement for both the nightclub and the show itself.