Second Life assignment

Second Life is a 3-D internet-based virtual world which was launched at 2003 by Linden Lab and recently catches media’s attentions. This program basically enables its users, which is called “Resident,” to create their own identities by making a new last name and first name . This corresponds with the name of this program, which means giving a second life to its users. Residents in this program can build their own communities while explore others. They can also interact, socialize, and even hold conference with other residents.

This program attracts much attentions recently because some major corporations of different fields in the world establish their communities in it. Examples are Reuters, Harvard Law School, Adidas Reebok, Dell, GAP and Toyota. Reuters sets up a news bureau which reports news in the visual universe. Dell opens a shop to sell its computers through the Second Life. Harvard Law School offers a course called “CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion” in 2006 within the Second Life. Even John Edwards establishes his official campaign in this program to promote himself.

Although Second Life gains much popularity because many major corporations are employing Second Life to extent their business, this program still receives some critics. Firstly, because this program requires high quality internet connection and new computer program to meet its settings, not many normal people can afford to use it. And users often experience crash if their computers are not up-to-date or if many users log in the program. Secondly, there are some moral controversies about the content of Second Life because it contains communities about sex and gambling. Although only these contents only exist in PG and Mature regions, people under 18 still can enter because it is difficult to know the real age of the user through internet.