Are the seconds ticking-by for Second Life?

In that case one can but have sympathy for the poor saps who, in years to come, find themselves poring over the remains of virtual jellyfish, whales and weasels rotting in the cyberspace ruins of the the shops, bars, and sex clubs of what was once Second Life.

Remember Second Life? Go on, you do really, just rack your brains a bit. It was the Internet fad of a couple of years ago when it was generally believed that we'd all have the time and the inclination to construct full-scale virtual alternative existences and personalities for ourselves to be "lived-out" on the Internet.

The notion was that after a long working day in front of a computer screen we'd go home to mundane reality grab a bite to eat and then spend a further eight hours a day having a fulfilling existence as a virtual sex-god, a warlord, a captain of industry or propeller-headed sociopath.

Indeed, once upon a time such was the hype surrounding Second Life that enormous multi-national corporations were queuing-up to create their own so-called "in-world" existences; constructing entire sequestered areas of the virtual world in which to display their wares, advertise their goods and, hopefully, make lots and lots of money from Second Lifers who, bored and dissatisfied with their lot in real life, had created exciting alter-egos for themselves in cyberspace and would spend real dosh to maintain the illusion.

Linden Lab launched Second life in the early summer of 2003. Access to its virtual world was free via the "Second Life Viewer", a program enabling "Residents" to interact with one another through "avatars" (i.e. alter egos that in 99.999 per cent of cases were fantasy identities based on wishful thinking and wet dreams and with only the most tenuous links to any sort of reality).

The idea was that by dressing-up and wrapping themselves in a cloak of make-believe, "Residents" freed from the conventions of real social contact that requires adherence to mutually accepted and acceptable protocols and norms of interactive behaviour, would participate in peer-to-peer and group activities, meet with one another, travel through the realms of the virtual world, and trade virtual property and services.

To enable virtual business, Second Life has its own currency, the Linden Dollar, that can be used to buy and sells goods and services, rent territory and properties (none of which actually exist). Linden Dollars though can be bought for real money (in the shape of the US greenback).

Research conducted a couple of years ago shows that although hard cash is used to pay subscription and "tier" fees, very few people make a living by doing business on Second Life.