Have you ever wanted to assume a character and explore a wonderful online world without worrying about getting killed by bandits, gangsters, or dragons? Well, there is an immense online environment in 3D where you can go called Second Life. It's easy to register, and it's free.
Once you are logged in, you create your avatar, which is just a character you select from the many choices. This avatar represents you, and is the way your move about in the Second Life world. Almost anything about your avatar's appearance can be changed, from its clothing, hair style, eye color, even the style of its shoes.
You then send your avatar off to do exploring either by walking, running, teleporting to any location, or even flying! Yes, you can fly in Second Life! The many possibilities of activities range from dancing in fantastic ballrooms to meditating in Zen retreats. Ingame, avatars are called residents, and you can send them text messages and even use voice chat to communicate with them. Just hook up your own headset and microphone. You can limit a resident's access to you by using a friend's list, and you can even notify everyone that you are "Busy" and cannot receive any messages at the moment (for those of you who want to be alone).
At the moment, there are more than 10 million avatars in Second Life who are registered. Usually close to 55 thousand are online (or "ingame") at any one time. There are also numerous live events taking place at any given moment in Second Life. For example, you can take part in discussions on various topics, or listen to author interviews. At the Writer's Convention and Fundraiser held in Second Life this last August 30th, Larry Niven delighted science-fiction fans with an appearance via his avatar. He answered questions and gave out posters to raise money for Alzheimer's research. You can also visit rummage sales to look around for discounted clothes or whatnot.
This is just the tip of the cyber iceberg of the experiences that await you in Second Life. The Second Life website has a ton of information to answer any of your questions, get you started and make you feel welcome. As they say ingame, "Nothing ventured...nothing gained." See you on the dance floor!
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