A fantasy vacation, no packing required

updated 9:45 p.m. ET May 12, 2007

NEW YORK - The tour was a whirlwind: dancing at a beachside disco in Spain surrounded by scantily clad women, grabbing a seat at a lively pub in Dublin, flying in a small aircraft above a lush, tropical forest.

Time elapsed? Less than two hours.

With no tickets required, no money spent and no need to leave your seat, touring in the virtual world of “Second Life” holds a certain appeal for travelers willing to delve deep into the Internet to find their escape.

Visitors need only download a free program, then log in. With the help of elaborate 3-D locales designed and built by the world’s residents, tourists can watch their online embodiments — known as their avatars — lounge at the beach, dine at a romantic restaurant, or go out dancing at a crowded nightclub.

Like in the real world, it’s easy to get lost. Longtime inhabitants of “Second Life” are creating automated tours, opening virtual travel agencies and even publishing travel guidebooks modeled after those seen in the hands of confused tourists.

Of course, there are some glaring differences between your average Frommer’s guide and “The Unofficial Tourists’ Guide to Second Life,” published in April by St. Martin’s Press.

“There are sections on how to fly and how to hover,” said co-writer Paul Carr. But despite such necessary adjustments, he said, “it’s very much like going to a foreign country.”

Tips on touring 'Second Life' Useful information for planning your virtual journey WHEN TO GO: When “Second Life” gets crowded, your avatar might seem sluggish and there might be a delay before elements of the world pop into full view. So you may want to consider visiting in the “offseason.” Creator Linden Research Inc. says that’s usually before 4 p.m. EDT and after 7 p.m. EDT. HOW TO GET THERE: Click here to download the free “Second Life” software and pick a name for your avatar. WHAT YOU’LL NEED: A graphics card and a computer that meet the software’s technical specifications. Click here for information. GETTING AROUND: Fly, teleport or catch a ride on a hot-air balloon. Plan on spending some time on an orientation island while you’re figuring out how to navigate. HOOK UP WITH A TOUR GUIDE: Synthravels bills itself as “the first online virtual travel agency”: http://www.synthravels.com. FIND AN AUTOMATED TOUR: The Guided Tour Company of Second Life offers a free, automated tour of tours. ACCOMMODATIONS: Until next month, you can find a room at the virtual aloft hotel, a “Second Life” model of Starwood Hotels’ new brand, to be launched in the real world next year. GUIDEBOOKS: “The Unofficial Tourists’ Guide to Second Life,” published last month by St. Martin’s Press ($9.95). Also the Wired travel guide to “Second Life”. AFTER DARK: Like on the Internet, sex is everywhere. Those under 18 should stick to “Teen Second Life,” and everyone else should be forewarned: You might run into something you wouldn’t see at Disneyland.

With the ability to fly and even teleport from place to place in “Second Life,” which hosted more than 1 million visitors in April, a vacation does not need to be a lengthy affair.

As they travel to virtual Roman neighborhoods and fantastical worlds, visitors can interact with other participants from all over the (real) world — about three-quarters of users are from outside the U.S., mostly from Europe, Brazil, Canada, Japan and Australia.

In “Second Life,” even language difficulties are a thing of the past. Visitors can pick up a free translation program and carry on typed conversations with others speaking any of nine languages.

For those looking to get their bearings, one option is the guided tour. Virtual travel agency Synthravels seeks to match up “tourists” and volunteer guides in 27 different online worlds, including “Second Life,” “World of Warcraft” and others.

On one recent tour of “Second Life,” Synthravels founder Mario Gerosa led the way to a virtual representation of the Spanish island of Ibiza, stopping first at a shop selling traditional flamenco garb, then at a disco surrounded by sand and sea, where with the click of a mouse avatars can dance.

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Next stop is Midnight City, where a flight above the skyscrapers shows the moon’s light reflected on the ocean’s waves. Nearby, a simulation of a solar eclipse allows Gerosa’s avatar, Frank Koolhaas, to walk right up to a blazing sun, standing on the fabric of outer space.

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Also on the tour: Dublin, a popular hangout among Irish users, and an island called Svarga, where a flying pod carries avatars above what appears to be a rain forest filled with huge trees and giant mushrooms.

Like any guided tour in “Second Life,” though, this one carried its own inherent difficulties. With both leader and led under their own power, it was quite easy to get separated. Several times, Gerosa’s avatar lost some of its clothes.

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