The internet has now begun blurring the lines between reality and virtual reality. It started with people spending large part of their lives (over 14 hours per day in some cases) inside the virtual worlds created by massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft, or Second Life. Second Life has for a while been attracting a bunch of non-gamers too, because it it not really a game. It is just a virtual world where people hang out, and in some cases, run businesses.
According to wikipedia Second Life is an Internet-based virtual world which came to international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007. Developed by Linden Lab, a downloadable client program enables its users, called “Residents“, to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.
Soon, real life began intruding into Second Life. For example, the announcement of the release of Sun Open Java was also done inside Second Life in the form of a Press Conference. In early 2007 the Swedish Institute stated it was about to set up an Embassy in Second Life. Now, Coldwell Banker, a real estate agency in the US has bought a large tract of land inside Second Life. It plans on re-selling half of it and renting out the other half.
Coldwell, which employs over 120,000 real-world sales agents in the United States and operates in a total of 45 countries, isn’t in Second Life to make money, says Charlie Young, the company’s senior vice president for marketing. “In the end this is about buying and selling homes in the real world,” he says. “We’re trying to figure out how to reach what we call the ‘new consumer’.” Executives insist that any profits will be reinvested in Second Life real estate.
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