Second Life Ever wanted to escape the world? To be and do whatever you wanted and express yourself without any boundaries in a place that’s carefree and others are there to join you to view your expressive mind and creativity? If so then Second Life is definitely something you should experience. With its unlimited creativity and freedom along with the variety of different characters in this community who joins in on this experience, Second Life is a gem. What is Second Life? Is it a game? Is it a MMORPG? Is it a chat room? Close, but no cigar. Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Labs and was released June 23, 2003. Though Linden Labs created this world, almost all the content in Second Life is created by the users. That’s right, almost every building you see, every tree, every rock, you name it, is almost entirely created by the users in Second Life. Many find this very hard to believe and I don’t blame them (I was also shocked as well). Linden Labs actually had a small contribution to this world. The best way to think of Second Life is like the internet. Linden labs just give the tools to the users along with the server, some land, and a few trees here and there, however the rest is up to the users to mold and shape their world at their very whim. You may wonder how the users shape the world around them. Building and creating is one of the many factors that affect the world of Second Life. The building tool(s) allow the avatars to create buildings, homes, items, clothing, and even different avatars if they have the skills and creativity. One thing I loved about the build tool is the precision and accuracy. I expected a building tool to be similar to that to the building tool in the Sims games. However I was thrown back by how the tool can turn from simplistic to complex to adjust a prim (the main building elements in Second Life) to the finest detail. However one thing I disliked about this tool was that it may be too complex for others (especially new players) to use. I at first was frustrated to the point till I gave up but I eventually nudged back into teaching myself with the help of friends into creating a simple house however I do believe Second Life should give heavy consideration into making a tutorial on building but there are classes that the user can volunteer in to learn such skills. Prims can also be animated to do simple things like to open for a door to more complex things like making a catapult. However if building is not your thing, there are many other thing’s in which your avatar (the user’s persona/character) can participate in. The possibilities in second life are endless and the world really does try it’s best to let you do whatever you want. It can be simple like going to a café and taking a stroll in the park to riding a dragon and exploring the caves of mars. Other than this there are always events taking place in Second Life. Users can even listen to live concerts of other avatars or watching their stage performance in plays. However there are a few things I am displeased with. Second Life has two basic types of users. One type of an account is if the user is under 18. The areas (or sims) of Second Life are rated General, Moderate, and Adult (G, M, A). However, users under the age of 18 can only access G rated areas. What’s worse is that most areas are rated M so the user can miss a lot on what Second Life has to offer while users that are at least 18 can fully enjoy all the areas which seems a bit unfair and though it makes sense to block the underage users from the Adult content areas, I believe underage users should be able to view moderate areas as well. Another thing that I dislike is lacking amount of users each area offers (unless there’s an event or it’s a hot spot).So it can be kind of annoying to “hunt” for different avatars. However there is always something to do. However, some of the best things in Second Life cost money and with that I introduce you with the linden dollar (Lindens/$L). The Linden is the currency in which the community in Second Life exchanges and like the real world, Second Life has its own currency. Users can simply redeem Lindens by setting their PayPal or credit card with their Second Life account and charge money from it just like regularly using a PayPal or credit card. It’s just like shopping online except your buying virtual products for your avatar. Lindens can be used to buy houses, land, clothing, cars, and pretty much anything that happens to be in Second Life or its online marketplace. However if you do not wish to spend real money, there are many different ways to make Lindens one of which is to get an actual virtual job. Second Life is probably one of the very few, if not only, virtual community in which an avatar can get an actual job and make money. Some of you may think, what’s the point? It’s only fake money. Now I present the true power of the Linden. Every linden you earn or have can all be converted back to real life money which means you actually can earn money from having a virtual job In Second Life. Other than a job, Users can also earn lindens from selling what they build or create like houses and dresses. However though it may sound easy, it may be difficult to actually earn this money so in order to make bank, you have to have skill in what you do much like the real world. Something I do wish however Linden Lab would make would be game cards for Lindens much like buying iTunes cards or any other prepaid game cards for in game credit since I believe it would increase the profits of players who would buy Lindens from a store rather than give their PayPal or credit card information since they would feel more secure about their money, and Linden Lab gets more of a profit and recognition. Second Life has many features in which other games do not but it still has it flaws with it’s somewhat shady community and at times, may seem barren, but it’s definitely something to experience. Second Life is truly a masterpiece in the making and with more people it’s more likely to become that and achieve the reputation it truly deserves.