Second Life: A Complete Virtual World Needs Inhabitants

My brother-in-law, Nandi, introduced me today to this interesting Virtual experiment.. an ENTIRE world that is being created online at Second Life. It is a place where people are buying real estate and own "Linden Dollars" and are starting new businesses and opening restaurants! The fastest selling commodity there is the … guns! So, today Virtual protesters marched against the owning and use of guns in the "New World". Those protesters were nerve gased and many "died"! And their entire Avatars vanished from the site completely.. their money.. their assets came to naught! Interesting. I will urge Nandi to write his experiences in this new world. Until then here is a little "What is Second Life" verbiage from the site itself. Go ahead.. it is free.. and "Open Source"!

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 3,629,720 people from around the globe.

From the moment you enter the World you’ll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you’ve explored a bit, perhaps you’ll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

You’ll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.

The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden Dollar exchanges.