‘Second Life’ creator predicts rapid growth

By Toby Sterling

updated 5:15 p.m. ET Oct. 8, 2006

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - In the beginning, Philip Rosedale created a virtual heaven and a digital earth, and then he said “let there be ’Second Life.”’

Whether or not it’s good, the 38-year-old entrepreneur’s 3-D world is certainly fruitful and multiplying.

“Second Life” now has more than 800,000 denizens, of whom more than a hundred are earning a real-world, full-time living there, selling things like virtual land, clothes, jewelry, weaponry and pets, or by offering virtual services, notably sex.

Yes, people pay real money for things they can only use in Rosedale’s world, which is created on powerful servers and accessed through the Internet. Hundreds of thousands of real dollars change hands in “Second Life” daily, and it would have an annual gross domestic product of around $150 million if it were to stop growing today.

But Rosedale forecasts it will pass a million users this year. A rush to be part of the “new new thing” is on, and organizations like Major League Baseball, Harvard University, American Apparel Inc., and CNet.com are among the many opening operations in “Second Life,” while musicians like Duran Duran and Suzanne Vega have broadcast virtual concerts there using the world’s lifelike animated characters.

As chief executive of Linden Research Inc., which owns “Second Life,” Rosedale is akin to the world’s god, with the software code he approves determining its fundamental laws. But when he enters “Second Life” as his self-created avatar, or character, he claims no special power other than celebrity above the thousands of other intelligent designers who populate its realms.

“I have to admit that I’m vain, like all of us. Nowadays to be Philip Linden (his online alter ego) is to be a rock star,” he told The Associated Press in an interview at a recent conference.
But “if I were the king, then this couldn’t be what it is,” he says.

Whatever “Second Life” is, it’s clear that it belongs in a different class than the virtual realities of film and fiction that have gone before it.

The closest comparison would be to online video games like “World of Warcraft,” or “The Sims Online.” Users download free software that opens a portal to “Second Life,” and Linden’s servers draft models of the ever-changing world and send it back to them as a real-time video.

The difference is, Rosedale’s creation “is not a game,” he said. It doesn’t have a goal, and most resources aren’t restricted. Characters can fly or breathe water, and they never age or die.

Like in real life, it’s up to you what you do in “Second Life,” and many are flocking to it with dreams of getting rich quick. Anshe Chung, the character created by Chinese-German businesswoman Ailin Graef, reportedly netted more than $100,000 last year trading and leasing land in desirable “Second Life” locations.

Land is the one resource that is limited, and the main source of revenue for Linden. Users who want a permanent place in the world to build their virtual homes or set up businesses pay $10 a month to own 500 virtual square meters, or an eighth of an acre, in addition to the one-time cost of purchasing developed real estate from speculators like Graef or virgin land from Linden.

Linden also takes in commissions from operating “Second Life’s” currency exchange. “Linden dollars” trade at a fluctuating rate against the U.S dollar — right now it’s about US$1 to L$280.

MORE FROM GAMES

Games Section Front

'Assassin's Creed 2' a big step forward   Video games of December This holiday season, let the games begin! Best games for kids over 10   Tony Hawk’s back for a ‘Ride’   'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' review Nintendo’s Mario endures as games come, go Best games for kids under 10 ‘Modern Warfare 2’ sets entertainment records   Zombies in the 'Tunnel of Love' Games Section Front   Add Games headlines to your news reader: