What is a virtual reality world? Imagine logging into your computer and being in a world where the sky is the limit. Whatever you want to be in your “Second Life”, you can be. With just a few mouse clicks, you can be the person, animal, or anything you can imagine.

Second Life is an online multimedia platform that people log into and create an avatar so they can explore this online world. I’m sure by now you are asking what all you can do while “exploring”. Let me give you some examples:

• Attend live events such as concerts, poetry readings, dancing at clubs with live DJ’s
• Participate in activities such as surfing, skydiving, skiing, parasailing, ziplining, and much more!
• Shop for things such as upgrades to your 3D avatar, clothing, houses, pets, artwork and home décor, cars, and more!
• Create! You can build sims (pieces of land), buildings and homes, vehicles, create artwork. Use your imagination and create anything that comes to mind.
• Start a business – Always wanted to be a realtor or property manager? Own land? Own a restaurant or club? Start a clothing line? In SL, you can start a business selling/reselling other people’s products for next to no money. You can set up a storefront in a matter of minutes.
• Get a job – businesses hire real-life people to run/manage their business in world. Musicians hire agents to get them gigs, venues, clubs, and hire hostesses to greet guests, stores hire salespeople, and the list goes on and on.
• Visit lands near and far – many lands in SL are created as fantasy but some are created based on actual cities. A lot of tourist spots are replicated so if you can’t travel, this gives you some sense of seeing places of your interest.
• Make friends – I have friends in real life that I met in SL. These friends live all over the world and I’ve met several of them in person.
• None of the above – You can just log in and walk (did I mention you can also fly?!) around and explore.

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Second Life is free to use, however, it takes a lot of effort to find places that offer free skins (how your avatar looks) and free clothing. Most people just choose to purchase some Lindens (Second Life’s currency) and get their avatar up and running asap. Of course, I do not recommend you spend any money that you cannot afford to. Making your avatar look more realistic does not affect your actual activity in SL. Real-life bills (housing, food, utilizes, medication) are a billion times more important than anything in Second Life.

There are so many things to mention about Second Life. Check back next week when we talk about how money is spent and earned in world! Some people earn thousands of dollars each month there!