Tag: SECOND LIFE

Because there's so much going on in Second Life on a regular basis (we're only being partially sarcastic here), CNN opened up a news bureau dedicated to the virtual world that has millions addicted. With the news blog, which CNN dubs "SL I-Reports: Your news of a virtual world", CNN is inviting SL members to file their own reports at a news desk located in the polygonal alternative universe. ...

Online virtual worlds are taking over. It would seem as though World of Warcraft and Second Life are cultish phenomena inhabited primarily by the uber-dorky, but if mainstream television is an indicator, things are changing. Recently, 'South Park' aired an episode in which much of the animation was modified in-game footage from World of Warcraft, while 'The Simpsons' parodied the virtual world ...

A virtual bank in the virtual world of 'Second Life' has collapsed, taking with it 200,000,000 Linden dollars, the in-game currency currency used for exchange within the game world. If you're shrugging your shoulders thinking this is the digital equivalent of running off with a whole pile of Monopoly money, you should know that Linden dollars can be exchanged for real dollars, and 200,000,000 ...

It's Sunday morning at 6AM, and Dutch Hoorenbeek rolls out of bed to check on his strip club and do some renovations to an outside party deck. He then fires several tenants in his mall for not paying rent, signs up four new ones, and transports to his office to spend some time with his wife, Tenaj Jackelope. The thing is, in real life, Dutch Hoorenbeek is actually Ric Hoogestraat, a call-center ...

Second Life is becoming more and more of a mirror of the real world. Real estate, relationships, sex and commerce. Where there's commerce, there are lawsuits. The 3D virtual world now has its first, not-so virtual, copyright lawsuit. Kevin Alderman, owner of SexGen, is suing an avatar (virtual game character) named Volkov Catteneo. SexGen changes your Ken and Barbie-esque 'Second Life' avatar into ...

In the 3-D virtual world of 'Second Life,' you can make some serious money. And not just the virtual 'Linden dollars' used as virtual currency in 'Second Life' -- we're talking real cash. Legal tender. Buckaroos. Residents of the online playground are able to sell virtual real estate, clothes and goods to other users, then trade in their Linden dollars at the end of the day for real U.S. ...

It's easy enough to learn interesting things about sex just by wandering about in 'Second Life,' whose citizens are rather open about a variety of things when it comes to reproductive techniques. Going along with the Second Life promiscuity, the University of Plymouth in Britain has made things a little more official, starting an in-game zone for to educate members about sexual health and ...

We've previously posted about the 'Barbie Girls' virtual world being slapped together by Mattel as a 'Second Life'-esque haven for teens and tweens. Now, the site has entered beta mode and something surprising has happened: The service has racked up three million registered users in 60 days and is still growing. The service is signing up roughly 50,000 new users a day, a growth rate that far ...

With fewer lockers around to be stuffed into, many adults are under the impression that their days of being bullied are well behind them. Unfortunately for the meek, bullying is still going strong in the virtual world of 'Second Life.' For those unfamiliar with it, the online playground of 'Second Life' allows you to do just about anything you like. You create a character and outfit him or her ...

Even virtual online worlds such as 'Second Life' have their seedy underbellies. While undercover in the massive digital playground, a German news program reports that it was invited to pay to attend meetings in which members view and trade real child pornography and have sex with the avatars of underage members (or the "virtual child" avatars of adult members pretending to be underage). This news ...

Barbie is an aging relic from a bygone era. Even little girls want cell phones and iPods these days. When they do want a doll, they often go for Bratz, those characters with gargantuan heads and trendy (read skimpy) clothing. Mattel is feeling the pressure, and making a major push to revitalize its Barbie brand with Barbie Girls, a mix of virtual and real Barbie-related ...

The world of virtual living is about to get a whole lot weirder. Electronic Arts, purveyors of such fine electronic fantasy simulators as 'Madden NFL Football,' 'The Sims,' and 'Def Jam: Icon,' has announced an intriguing new partnership with TV-production company Endemol. The plan is to create something called Virtual Me; when the service launches in the coming months, it will let users ...

Addiction The condition: Like just about everything else that's fun in this world, the Internet is a magnet for compulsive types. Whether it's in the form of a poker site, role-playing video games or even eBay, online addiction is estimated to affect between five and 10 percent of the population, ruining lives and relationships along the way. Think we're exaggerating? Check out ...