Linden Lab

In addition to required tax documentation (which we blogged about in November 2013), US law separately requires that institutions such as Linden Lab obtain, verify, and record information confirming the identification of account holders who submit a certain volume and/or amount of Process Credit Requests. We have recently begun emailing users who need to submit this information. If you receive such a notice from us, you will need to follow the instructions and provide the required documentation within thirty (30) days. These emails are being sent through our Support system. If you are among those individuals who need to provide this information, you can verify the request in your Case History in the Support Portal and reply to the Case if you have any related questions.

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Untitled" by Yamacco Jewell. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Steal This Moment" by Elphame Raynier. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

What better way to start out the new year than with a contest? The New Year, New You contest is a great way to show off that new hairstyle, avatar, or anything you did in 2013. With a chance to win L$10,000 and show off your new look, what’s not to love? You’ll need a proper background to show off that new avatar, so we decided to share a few of our favorite photography spots. Look below for a Victorian snail of blown glass and bronze, a floating miniature universe, mysterious dark forests and a mystical underwater realm. Your avatar is a reflection of your self, give it the setting it deserves. If you’ve created a particularly photogenic spot, why not share it with us? We always enjoy seeing what you come up with next! Sleepy Snail Rebeca Bashly's Sleepy Snail is a fantasy spreading through a full sim that offers a sensational feeling of the purest beauty through delicate craftsmanship. Visit in Second Life Inspire Space Park Meditate in the cosmos. Orbit in an ambient galaxy around the planets to down-tempo music. Relax in the stars and give the universe a great big hug! Visit in Second Life Sparrow Song Sparrow Song is an intricately designed, snow-dusted fantasy realm. Wander through this glowing realm of ice sculptures, mysterious forests, delicate castles and ancient mysteries. Something magnificent waits around every corner at Sparrow Song. Visit in Second Life Da Vinci Gardens Romance, mysticism, and adventure await within the varied landscape of this area. Explore outer space, sea life, or just relax in the lush gardens among the Roman, Greek, and Renaissance architecture. Visit in Second Life Bentham Forest Wander and explore the dark, foreboding landscape that is Bentham Forest. Explore and discover the secrets of this vast haunted forest. Visit in Second Life

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "thoughts that wander off the edge of the world 1" by The Wandering Faun. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Calling All Angels" by Cate Storymoon. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Dear Johnny" by Gia Nikai Juliesse. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "BELIEVE!" by Lori Novo. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "I ♥ Animals" by coco. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Building a Snowman" by Vrir Resident. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

A new year comes with lots of opportunities to make resolutions, set goals to do things you always wanted to do, and make a fresh start! Here’s a chance to extend that freedom into your Second Life - and make over your avatar! There’s L$10,000 on the line - you could win if your avatar receives the most votes once voting opens. Entering is easy: 1. Get a picture of your avatar’s evolution from 2013 to 2014 (new hair, new clothes, completely new look, the options are limitless!) 2. Go to the Second Life Official Facebook Page here. (If you have not already liked our page, do this first to access the contest) 3. Click the contest tab located below the cover image. 4. Review the rules and enter - just follow the steps once you hit enter. You can also view existing entries and share your entry with your Facebook friends. You may win one of four amazing prizes: Grand Prize – 10,000 Linden Dollars. First Prize – 5,000 Linden Dollars. Second Prize – 3,000 Linden Dollars. Third Prize- 1,000 Linden Dollars. Good luck!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "The Spirit of Snow" by Tyra Eiren. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Machinimist extraordinaire Draxtor Despres has a year-end treat for us all - the latest episode of The Drax Files: World Makers! This episode profiles the artist Scott Rolfe, whom you may know as Scottius Polke - the artistic otter - in Second Life. Watch the video . If you’ve not kept up with The Drax Files, or could just use with a little creative inspiration to help kick off the new year in Second Life, be sure check out these links to previous episodes: The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 1: Kriss Lehmann The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 2: Jo Yardley The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 3: Eshi Otawara The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 4: Fantasy Faire / RFL The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 5: Engrama The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 7: Rod Humble The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 8: MadPea Games The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 9: Elie Spot The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 10: Robin Sojourner The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 11: Dwarfins The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 12: Ole Etzel The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 13: Creations for Parkinson's The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 14: Rose Borchovski

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "I Don't Care If It Hurts" by ookami noko. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Cosy Cocoa Train" by Sonya Marmurek. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Fruit Islands Winterland" by Loverdag. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Few days till miracle arrives" by Lilo. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

As we approach the start of the new year, we want to spend a few minutes reflecting on 2013 - Second Life’s tenth year was a big one indeed! This year, we marked Second Life’s tenth anniversary with inworld celebrations, special events, an infographic of some fun factoids and stats, and gave away thousands of festive free gifts and special-edition avatars. We hope all of you who joined us in the celebrations had as much fun as we did! The boundless creativity of Second Life users that fills the virtual world showed no signs of slowing this year. The Marketplace remained busy, merchants gained new advertising opportunities, and creators submitted more than 3,000 new entries to the Destination Guide. If you follow this blog closely, you’ll note that we also began periodically highlighting some of the new and interesting entries here as well. On the technical side, 2013 saw significant improvements to Second Life. Project Sunshine brings faster and more reliable avatar loading, while Project Interesting greatly reduces the load and time it takes to draw objects in regions. These releases represent the culmination of some long-term and complex efforts, but more importantly, they mean that as we head into 2014, Second Life simply runs better than it ever has before. jwglL3VXI80 W7AC1RojXOk This year we released new tools to give users more creative power in Second Life. Materials support enables users to create photorealistic textured objects inworld using normal and specular maps (in fact, we used this to create the special-edition anniversary avatar!). The Fitted Mesh Project expands the creative potential of mesh in Second Life by enabling creators to make dynamically fitted mesh garments for avatars. We’re looking forward to seeing even more amazing creations built using these tools in the coming year! keFfqiDqnJg We launched new tools to make it easier to communicate inworld and to share pieces of your Second Life experiences with online friends outside the virtual world. CHUI (the Communications Hub User Interface) brings Second Life’s communications tools together into a flexible UI that users can customize to fit the ways they prefer to communicate inworld. SLShare is an opt-in feature that makes it easy to update your status, share photos, and check-in from inworld locations on your Facebook wall so your friends can ‘like,’ comment, or come and join you in Second Life. That feature’s still in testing, and we look forward to bringing the option to everyone soon. t8IUxCMyElU hAL7Li_h8pQ New technology, offering new ways to experience Second Life, helped make this year an exciting one and promises to make 2014 even more so. At the start of the year, we shared our experiments using the Leap Motion controller to interact with Second Life. As we come to the end of 2013, we can confirm that early in the new year, you’ll see new options for experiencing Second Life on mobile devices as well as the full integration of the Oculus Rift. Whether you’ve been in Second Life from the start or are just joining today, we’d like to thank you for being a part of this incredible experience we’re all creating together. This year has been a big one for Second Life, and 2014 promises to be even better!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Don't Wake Me During Summer" by Coral Lacey. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Winter Wonderland" by Autumn Amaranth. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Next year, we'll be making some improvements to the Second Life Marketplace search functionality. To help focus those efforts, we'd like to get some feedback from Marketplace users (both buyers and merchants) about how Marketplace search is working for you today and, more importantly, what you’d like to see in the future. Please take a few minutes to help us improve this feature for all Residents by completing this brief survey here. The survey will be available for feedback through January 6, 2014, and your input is greatly appreciated!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "[Pink] Winter" by Vixie Rayna. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Un secreto al conejo" by Roudoudou Hirons. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "SL Destination: 3 Realms of Snow" by Revan Jinn. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "What Is This?!" by Gia Nikai Juliesse. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!