For those who have no hope of making it on to Centre Court, it is a chance to see what it’s like to face a high-speed serve.

Second Life, the online virtual world, has started broadcasting Wimbledon matches to its six million members.

The games, played on a virtual Centre Court, are streamed using real-time data from HawkEye, the ball-tracking software used by players to challenge line calls.

They can be viewed from any angle, making it possible to watch an entire match through the eyes of the players.

Ian Hughes, a “metaverse [online universe] evangelist” for IBM, who worked on the project, said: “There’s a representation of the tennis court and two figures that represent the players. You’ll see the ball move and the players move to hit it. At the back of the court the scoreboard will up-date itself.

“In Second Life you can move your camera view wherever you want to. As the action is played out you have full rein. You can attach yourself to the player and have a player-eye view. You can have a bird’s eye view.”

This year HawkEye has been used as an official arbitration system at Wimbledon for the first time. Five high-speed cameras track the progress of the ball, feeding data back to a computer that renders it into three dimensions.

At the conclusion of every rally, the same data is then broadcast in Second Life. Mr Hughes said: “It’s really a case of rearranging stuff we already have, rather than changing the whole flow of the system. We’re taking the HawkEye coordinate data and putting it into a 3D environment.”

It is thought to be the first time a sporting event has been broadcast live in Second Life, although the diffuse nature of the virtual world means that its makers, Linden Lab, cannot be sure. In the United States, the NBA has been experimenting with similar projects to broadcast basketball.

The threedimensional universe has already provided settings for live gigs by, among others, Jimmy Carr, the comedian, and Professor Richard Dawkins, the biologist. David Miliband, the new Foreign Secretary, also conducted an interview in the virtual world using his online persona.

Wimbledon’s foray into Second Life is part of the tournament ’ s drive to modernise.

At a conference before this year’s event, Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, said: “For us the interesting balance is between tradition and change. In a highly competitive environment, you’re always looking to do something different, but it has to be innovation that matters.

“Attracting younger people and communicating with people in different ways is what it’s all about.

“So if you get their interest, if you get theirattention,through whatever novel approaches work, then that has to be a great thing.”

Organisers also hope to extend the tournament’s brand by handing out a range of virtual merchandise, including T-shirts and contact lenses, both of which can be affixed to a user’s avatar – their Second Life presence.

One of the SW19 visitor’s most popular purchases – the Wimbledon towel – will also be given out as a free gift, albeit with a twist. “It works as a magic carpet. You can fly around on it,” said Mr Hughes.

A spokesman for IBM said: “This has a business appeal for Wimbledon. They have a two-week tournament and it takes place in a village in South London.

“Although there’s television and the web, this is giving people elsewhere the chance to experience it in a different way.”

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