TECH & ENTERTAINMENT: Second Life

WHAT: Second Life is a 3D world that you access through a program on your computer. In a way, it's kind of like THE SIMS, except that you create a virtual version of yourself - an "avatar" - and you can buy land, build stuff, and kind of do things that you'd do in real life. Except in Second Life, you can fly. I'm going out there on a limb to say that a good portion of you have already heard about it; then again...

WHY: You should know about Second LIfe because... well, hmmm. I'm not really sure. Except it's been very popular - companies have bought and created virtual properties for themselves: you can find THE GAP there, NASA has a museum there, and the Swedish Embassy even set up a very informative virtual embassy. It's free to download the software and setup an account. If you want to own land, though, you need to upgrade your account, which means paying a monthly fee. I suppose that means your really just renting the land, then?

So why am I so dubious as to why you should know about it? Well, it's not really a game, so there's not really a goal. I suppose it's a bit like a 3-dimensional internet experience. I've recently spent a bit of time there for a class I'm required to take, and I've been building a presentation. I feel that it's kind of like random web surfing. Sure, it's okay to burn away some time, but in the end, there's no real sense of satisfaction from the experience.

The reason I am excited about it, though, is because of what the possibility can be around the corner. Google Earth is already developing leaps and bounds, and users there can now create 3D buildings. If Google can create a social aspect to Google Earth - where you create a version of yourself and then navigate inside Google Earth, i.e. a real representation of the planet - imagine the possibilities. You could virtually visit a real place, interacting in a way that comes closer to your first life than your Second Life. Visit your local Target, find where the parking is, and then visit the DVD section. Then have the product sent to you, or be ready for pickup.

Until then, you can browse Second Life for free. And possibly build your virtual assests up to convert them back to real world dollars (see Second Life's first millionaire here: "Virtual Property Queen Says Thanks A Million").

www.secondlife.com

/sms