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Second Life is a premier virtual worlds platform extant in the USA and more
than 100
countries worldwide. Its residents constitute
a resource of talented consumers and developers wedded to the concept of virtual reality as a
creative environment for extending human activities, commerce and relationships.
Bing
Gordon, Chief Creative Officer of Electronic Arts, has called Second Life "the lingua
franca [common language] of virtual worlds." Regularly reviewed in
specialist technology media such as Wired, Second Life hit the business
mainstream with a prominent cover article in the May 2006 Business Week,
followed by another in the June Harvard Business Review. Since then media
coverage has grown exponentially.
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world built and owned by its residents.
Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy,
sell and trade with other residents. This commerce is handled with an in-world
currency, the Linden dollar, which is tied to and can be exchanged for the US dollar at thriving online currency exchanges.
Linden Lab is a privately held company established to develop new forms of shared 3D entertainment. Through its first product,
"Second Life," Linden Lab offers a collaborative, immersive and open-ended
entertainment experience, where together people create and inhabit a virtual
world of their own design. |
