GENEVA -- The Maldives on Tuesday became the first country to open an embassy in the virtual reality of web-based Second Life, a fantasy world inhabited by computer-generated residents, the Maldives mission to the United Nations in Geneva said.

The Maldives thus pip Sweden to the post; the Scandinavian country had hoped to be first off the block when it opens its own virtual embassy on May 30.

The embassy will be located in the "Diplomatic Quarter" of Second Life, and visitors will be able to talk to a virtual diplomat about visas, trade and other issues.

An official from the Maldives mission in Geneva will actually create their own 'avatar', or computer-generated character, to deal with visitors 'face-to-face'.

"Just like a video game, it will be very interactive," Marc Limon of the Maldives mission told Agence France-Presse.

Second Life, created by San Francisco technology company Linden Lab, has attracted several real-world companies, including car manufacturers and sports clothing makers, which created 3-D stores.

Officials from the Indian Ocean archipelago said a presence on Second Life could boost the Maldives' international profile.

Second Life opens up "new avenues for diplomatic representation and negotiation, especially for small and developing countries that have limited diplomatic outreach in the 'real' world," the Maldives mission said in a statement.

Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said the virtual embassy "offers another channel for us to provide information on the country, to offer our viewpoint on issues of international concern, and to interact with our partners in the international community."