But those issues aside, a friend took me around IBM where they are incredibly excited about the prospects of Second Life. They have been working on sports projects, and matches have been reproduced on Second Life where people can replay each shot and analyse the technique of the players – this certainly brings more to the table than traditional television.

You are right – there are numerous examples of Second Life as a revolutionary programme, and for me, one of the most positive aspects of Second Life is it is user generated, and the opportunities it offers, such as art, are available to anyone who has an avatar.

I find the development of the virtual enviroment an interesting one. Someone commented that it is moving away from being immersive to being augmented – that is, if you believe the two are separate, I don’t see them as being mutually exclusive. The point of the blog (and I think it may have been from Gwyneth Llewellyn) was that Second Life is becoming more of an extension of the real world, rather than an escape from it, or a place of fantasy and escapism.

While technology brings new ways to commit crimes, it also brings enhanced communication and collaboration with people and on projects that you may otherwise not get (people from different walks of life or geographical locations). I do find it sad that there is so much focus on the sex and potential for crime in Second Life – there are amazing art/music projects, educational endeavors, a museum of ocean science and so much more. Yes, there is sex – but no… it’s not all there is – it’s so much more.

I think the self governace is fantastic and has far more strengths than weaknesses. Second Life and other virtual environments also give those that may be discriminated against in the real world an opportunity to participate without people judging them based on their disabilities, gender, etc.

I returned to Second Life in 2007 after a short foray in 2005 that didn’t last due to my technology not being up to running the environment and I had some skeptism as to whether I’d stay. I have met so many amazing, creative and talented people from around the world, I can’t imagine leaving. The people I mix with range in age from their early teens through to their 70s and come from low socio-economical backgrounds and privileged backgrounds… some are athiests, some are devoutly religious… and they are all there in that one space.

One of the most amazing things about Second Life is that everything in Second Life is created by the residents, not by the creators of the software that runs the environment. My entire immediate family has accounts (we sometimes paly old fashioned board/dice/card games in world) and my sister who had never touched programs like Photoshop and GIMP is now quite proficient in using these graphics programs simply because she had a desire to create things in Second Life and so learned how. She can also now use animation programs and has been playing with art.

For all the negative press about Second Life it’s interesting to note that the hair fair, (an annual event in Second Life) raised over 9,000 USD for an American cancer charity. Pretty amazing when you consider that ~260-275 in game dollars are only worth $1 USD. I also have heard of people happily giving money to another resident for a headstone for a family member and members of the community donating real and virtual money to help a popular in-world artist upgrade her computer after it’d been fried by lightening a few times in a row – just because they appreciated the art. There are so many examples of fundraising, charity and kindness in Second Life but such things seldom reach the ears of the masses… the media prefers to talk about the darker side of life… in both the real and virtual worlds.