A Walk in the Virtual World

A year ago, when the wave of virtual world popularity swept through Latvia, I created an avatar iinuu Larnia at http://secondlife.com/. I strolled a little through virtual Berlin, Paris (the inhabitants there, just as in real Paris, speak only French), Moscow (beautifully and lavishly designed), Dublin (as a true Latvian woman, I liked the last one best). Unfortunately, there is no sign of Latvia or Riga there. Of course, as in real life, nothing happens in the virtual world either if you don't have "cabbage" (money). Payment for virtual lands, services and products is made in Linden dollars. The first people to register in this virtual environment automatically received a starting sum of 300 Linden dollars - but no longer. The only pleasures are teleporting to various locations found by keywords on the map, chatting with other avatars, dancing in clubs or playing an instrument. Oh yes - if your virtual legs get tired, you can also fly.

Yesterday, after a long time, I logged in again to see what's new. I installed a newer version, but the conclusion is the same - that "infernal machine" (read: computer) with its virtual worlds is a terrible time-swallower. Not for nothing have some people literally moved into Second Life - opened their own little shop, started new relationships, built themselves a private house with an electronic fence that strangers simply cannot enter.

Briefly about Second Life - the second life or virtual world on the internet was launched in 2003 by Linden Lab - http://lindenlab.com. About three years later it gained international attention. However, despite its popularity, Second Life has several serious competitors:
• http://www.imvu.com/;
• http://www.there.com/;
• http://www.activeworlds.com/;
• http://www.kaneva.com/;
• http://www.redlightcenter.com/.
For a while Google also made attempts to create something similar - http://www.lively.com - but apparently it gained no traction and was shut down in January of this year.

Residents are Second Life users whose appearance is their avatar. The initial avatar is a human-looking male or female figure. Avatars can represent either a real person or any imaginary character. Avatars can be made taller, more attractive or more muscular, dressed in various styles of clothing and given accessories. Second Life residents can explore and meet other residents, take part in individual and group activities, and create and sell goods (virtual property) and services to one another. In May 2008 the number of registered users was 13.5 million. Most of these are inactive, and many residents have multiple profiles, making it difficult to determine a reliable figure for regular active users.

Several real organisations and institutions have seriously engaged with the project. For example, Toyota and Coca-Cola have created their own virtual districts. The Maldives was the first country in the world to establish an embassy in Second Life. It is located on Second Life's diplomatic island, and visitors can talk with a computer-simulated ambassador about visas, trade and other matters. In May 2007, Sweden also opened its virtual embassy, followed on 4 December by Estonia, thus becoming the third country in the world represented in Second Life. Several colleges and universities offer virtual learning opportunities.

I am no advanced Second Life user, but if it weren't for the time and energy (and perhaps money) involved, I could realistically relocate there for a while. My dream would be to build a virtual island for themed parties and drag racing. :) Hmm, perhaps one already exists and I just haven't found it?

Perhaps a Latvian or two can be found in Second Life as well? Otherwise things can get rather boring at times... One could pop over to a Dublin pub where lovely Irish music is playing, and dance, chat in one's native tongue as well. ;)

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
http://secondlife.com/