Invitation to the virtual world 'Second Life', opportunities and dangers for visitors and providers

Presentation of the virtual world Second Life, developed by Linden Lab corporation, which began its successful journey on 23 June 2003 and started gaining real momentum at the end of 2006.

Solution and Method

Presentation of the virtual world Second Life, developed by Linden Lab corporation, which began its successful journey on 23 June 2003 and started gaining real momentum at the end of 2006. It is accessible via the internet using the client programme Second Life viewer and enables residents of the virtual environment to interact with each other through created 'avatars' (an avatar is a distinctive reflection of its owner both in graphical and social terms, as well as an active interface between the physical and virtual world (Second Life Slovenija 2009)).

In this way, the virtual world Second Life offers every company the possibility of additional communication with and amongst customers whilst simultaneously promoting itself. For the purposes of self-promotion, it is necessary in the virtual world, similarly to the real world, to invest resources (financial, human) for the purchase of a location where the promotion will take place, as well as for equipping the location (private locations are called islands) and preparing objects for subsequent interaction with visitors. The thesis will present the first steps in the virtual world Second Life, from avatar creation to visits to well-known locations, describe the purchase procedure and an example of setup, and visit a school that has leased an island and equipped it for its own promotion.

At the end, it will also touch upon the dangers that lurk for users and visitors of the virtual world Second Life, both of a technical nature (software dangers for computer users) as well as the aspect of addiction that can be caused by viewing this virtual world as a 'second life' or even escaping into it from real-world problems.