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IN A VIRTUAL WORLD To solve real problems

If you thought social networking was all about poking, gifting and scrapping, the goings on at Linden Lab’s Second Life will make your jaw drop. “Start second life now?” it asks matter-of-factly, after you download the software that ’s needed to become a resident in this virtual community.

New occupants visit Linden Lab’s Orientation Island that could well be a bizarre science experiment straight out of a Kazuo Ishiguro novel. Reminiscent of the fictitious town Stepford, volunteers show you around and introduce you to ‘ready-made friends’ but warn you that violation of the community’s rules will result in expulsion.

The mythological subtext in this 3D parallel universe is hard to miss: you come in as an ‘avatar’ and bad behaviour results in ‘banishment’. As for the flying, it’s real enough to induce vertigo.

The ‘no assault’ clause that tells people not to shoot or shove their neighbours makes one want to pack a pepper spray in anticipation before moving in. Tattoo removal is painless in Avatar Island but a name change? No can do. You pick from a list that includes Zabaleta, Tsarchonand Bosatsu and stick with it.

At SL, anyone can ‘become’ a private detective or landscape designer. “Many people have given up their jobs to run their own Second Life businesses,” says Sebastian D. Marcu ( www.smarcu.de), Germany-based consultant in the field of Social Media for Marketing Communications.

“Some make over $10,000 a month, selling virtual goods. It’s an excellent tool for nurturing entrepreneurial skills as you learn the ‘art of doing business’ without taking major risks.” Multinational corporations use virtual worlds to solve real problems in business. IBM has over 40 islands on SL and has used ‘Active Worlds’ as a platform for a ‘meeting of the minds’ for employees from several countries. It also operates a large complex on SL where virtual world innovators collaborate with clients to investigate means to boost productivity.

If it’s a fertile ground for friendships and businesses, can politics be far behind?

Recently, Second Life was in the news when former U.S. senator John Edwards’ presidential campaign headquarters on the website were ‘vandalised overnight’ using Photoshop and graffiti. Although reports say that the area was subsequently ‘cleaned up’, democrats in the community aren’t amused. Until now, the virtual world has been viewed merely as an extension of real life, but with the mind-boggling success of the likes of secondlife.com, it’s time to rethink our conventional definitions of reality.

SRIYA NARAYANAN

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