Images: Tsunamis, hurricanes hit 'Second Life'

On Thursday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched an immersive, interactive 3D presence in the virtual world Second Life.

The site, created by the NOAA's Earth Research Lab, gives Second Life users the opportunity to walk through a series of interactive exhibits, showing, for example, the effects of global warming on large glaciers; what it's like to fly in an NOAA plane or weather balloon into, through or around a hurricane; and what undersea caves and marine life looks like from a submarine.

Here, the exhibit showcases the effects of a tsunami, demonstrating first what happens when the water pulls back.