Thats right, wether you like it or not Linden Lab's Second Life is coming up trumps. Appearing on News Stations over America and Europe, people are starting to notice this virtual simulation of life. I got introduced to it by my dad who had read more about it in papers and heard interviews over radio stations. Second Life is exactly that - a Second life to your real one. Of course, in Second Life you -can- own that sports car, you -can- own that massive Mansion and yes, you can even be a Dragon!. (I'm the white Dragon on the pic ^^). Infact, there is no limit of what you can be on Second Life, or SL as it is refered to by users :). This and the fact that you can own certain items for a much, much cheaper price than in the real world, has made Second Life a popular place for virtual living.
But what is even more fascinating is that people actually make real money out of living here. You can buy and sell anything. Second Life even has a real estate, where you can rent, own or loan out plots of land, houses, apartments...or even underwater buildings!. You can even (If you have enough money :P ) buy your own island. Second Life has currency called Linden Dollar, SL$, and people can convert thier earnings into US dollars, or turn US dollar's into Lindens. You can be a world class fashion designer and sell your own clothing. Bearing in mind you have to 'create' the clothing first :P. Yes, you can build stuff in this virtual world. There are marvellous tutorials about making things in Second Life dotted all over the net but I recommend Natalia Zelmanov's Second Life Diary. I have used most of the tutorials on her Blog for my first few creations and they are fantastic!, so easy to follow and to read through :).
To own any sort of land, you need a premium account (that means dreaded monthly fee's!) but the good thing about that is that you actually get a Linden Dollar Salary per week to help you cope. Second Life is free to join and sign up, but you have to download the program before you can use it. At first I couldn't use it because they didn't have a version out for Windows Vista. But after a few weeks Linden Lab seemed to catch on to this problem and they bought out a version which could cope with Vista's interface ;).
Of course, my positive veiw on this new world is not shared by all and many people disagree with the fact Second Life is good for those who use it. With so much depth to an online program such as this, some say it is easy to get lost in the realm of fantastical things and that some even get so bad that they find it hard to 'log off' and spend time with their families or friends. To those really addicted, it IS real life. That is scarey to me. Perhaps their life is not what they thought (but hey, when is it ever? :P) and they can escape to this world where they -are- happy with what they have. For me, Second Life is a bit of fun :) and now a prospective buisness angle. I am learning how to create Animations for Avatars - Avatar's or AV's meaning what you look like in Second Life - and creating the Avatar's themselves such as fantasy and mythical creatures. The guy in the screenshot above in standing in an Animation pod which allows you to preview animations before buying. I just thought it was weird how he was slumped in there strangely :S.. he was in 'away' mode but still, weird to just come across a person slumped in a plastic chamber :P.
Talking of which...there are some very, very strange things in Second life. Some of which are quite disturbing to see and discover. I try and take as many screenshots of the more ' bizarre' things as possible, just because they are interesting and funny (One thing for SL, and that is you can get a lot of laughs :P). The most weirdest thing I have seen so far is the fact you can actually buy what is called 'Prim babies'. Yes, you can buy babies. Not real obviously lol, but made from prims ( Second Life's version of bricks or modelling clay chunks). Just very strange to me how Second Life couples want a virtual baby :P. If you find the perfect person for you, you can get married on SL strangely enough. I suppose it is a nice idea if, in real life, a couple cannot conceive a real baby. But still....*shiver*. There is also A LOT of sexual things; Things which I will spare from mentioning at the moment!.
Anyway, thats a quick introduction to Second life. I will be writting more on the places and my own avatars later on sooo if your interested, keep checking! :D. Now, into Fantasy!....
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