second life
Second Life is a 3D virtual world created by Linden Lab. It is based on the novel Snow Crash and on the Cyberpunk literary movement. It is a world created by users where people play, do business, relate to each other, have sex, go to a concert... the goal is to communicate. Why Second Life? Because it gives people the opportunity to be what they want to be. It is a free program and you only have to download it to your computer. Then, you are ready to take part on that second life. First, choose the sex; then, physical appearance. The graphic design is not fully developed yet. However, they offer many choices to enter a new life: big eyebrows, an athletic body etc. Once we create the character, we enter the virtual world. It is a world made of different islands, where anything can be found. You can do business, go to a U2 concert, ask for directions to somebody on the street... You can play for free and open an account. However, and as most of the innovations (because the creators did this to earn some money) there are some advantages if you pay 6-9 euros a month. The fable is related to the possibility that our characters build in the land of Second Life. The more lands you have, the bigger the monthly rate becomes. For example, having a 64 thousand square meter island is 195 euros a month; however, this could be the island of our dreams. We can build whatever we like on it and nobody can open any business there. What if we want to open a new hotel? Nobody can demand any license to build because in your land, you have all the rights. Nevertheless, and although it might seem difficult, there is somebody who is getting rich on this 3D virtual world. There is no money in cash, but euros, dollars... money is exchanged in Lindens (this is the imagination of the creator), once the exchange is done, money is saved on your account. If we buy some land on a strategic place, close to a McDonald’s for example, and we don’t build anything, it is likely that the competitors would like to open a new store close to it and so, the value of our house increases. To tell the truth, Second Life, having computing under control, is getting rich and soon, like in any other game, they learn tricks and shortcuts to get rich. Many multinationals have already opened new offices on this virtual world. IBM celebrated their last meeting in Second Life. All the heads in the world made an appointment and met there in a big room where everybody introduced their characters and showed their reports, giving and exchanging opinions. When this virtual world is fully developed, one will be able to live the life of his character thanks to a web cam. If we are in a meeting, we need to pay attention because if we are bored, our characters will express the same. Before, Second Life was in English, but from December 2006, there is a Spanish version. There is also a version from teenagers, from 13 to 17 called Teen Second Life where there are new laws for babysitting and pornography, alcohol and drugs are prohibited. From now on, people will leave the real life and spend hours trying to find a better life. There is someone who stays there 12 hours a day. Real? Virtual? Second Life.
