IBM has recreated a 'virtual Wimbledon' in Second Life where users will be able to see matches being played by avatars using real match data from this year's championships.

Ian Hughes, a 'metaverse evangelist' at IBM, said that virtual worlds like Second Life allow people to "experience Wimbledon in a better way, with other people".

"When you put yourself into a virtual world that is not restricted by the laws of gravity or the laws of physics we can do all sorts of extra things. We are able to explore where we might be able to take Wimbledon."

Alternatively internet users can subscribe to live and on-demand video from up to nine courts including Centre Court and No.1 Court, as well as the World Feed, previews, highlights, interviews and classic archive footage at Wimbledon.org.

This year's tournament is also to get a hi-tech shake-up with the introduction of detailed match analysis DVDs for every game.