Amazing that people seem to compare WOW and Second Life. I find second life to be a pretty awful product. Compared to WOW (other than the fact that it's a game) which is technical excellent.

Somebody is going to do a Second Life with good technology and simply blow the current system away.

One thing that occured to me though. Does a virtual world have to have a point/purpose? Second Life doesn't, and is potentiall being limited because of that. In WOW there's a clear purpose/set of goals/system of respect.

Maybe there's room for something in between.

I don't think WOW's gonna take the road.

What do you mean by the road?

"The road" as in, the way that leads out of.. here

Its not going anywhere

I do have to start by saying that I haven't been on either ...

purpose.

Virtual terror strikes Second Life

In an explosive display, virtual-world banes now mirror the
havoc of the real one as terrorists have launched a bombing
campaign in Second Life.

People controlling animated avatar members of a self-proclaimed
Second Life Liberation Army (SLLA) have set off computer-code
versions of atomic bombs at virtual world stores in the past six
months -- with their own manifesto.

The SLLA claims to be an "in-world military wing of a national
liberation movement" devoted to replacing the rule of Second Life
creator Linden Labs with a democracy representing the nearly four
million residents.

"As Linden Labs is functioning as an authoritarian government
the only appropriate response is to fight," the SLLA said in a
message on its website at http://secondlla.googlepages.com.

"When the SLLA succeeds in its aims it will disband and hand
power back to the political wing of the movement."

Creative dissent is welcomed in Second Life as long as it
doesn't interfere with the ability of other residents to enjoy the
virtual world, according to San Francisco-based Linden.

Second Life said it stopped charging a tax on items created by
residents after avatars fashioned in the images of American
revolutionaries recreated the Boston Tea Party in the virtual world
about three years ago.

Since then, website users adept at manipulating computer codes
have engineered mischief including a "push gun" that blasted other
avatars back when fired, according to Linden.

"We do the utmost to ensure the protection of creative
expression, within certain bounds," Linden marketing director
Catherine Smith told AFP on Friday.

"Ultimately, instances in which residents engage in simulated
violence will have to be taken on a case-by-case basis."

The virtual bomb blasts in Second Life explode in hazy white
balls, blotting out portions of a screen and battering nearby
avatars, animated figures that are residents' proxies in the
virtual world.

The disruptions are brief and do not cause lasting damage in
Second Life, according to Linden.

Residents are given free rein in Second Life, as long as they
don't harass or interfere with other avatars in what is referred to
in-world as "griefing."

SLLA bombings have been viewed by Linden as "mock terrorism"
done in fun to catalyze debate about the in-world power
structure.

"We believe recent events involving SLLA protest lack malicious
intent," Smith said. "Resident reaction to such attacks has been
decidedly tongue-in-cheek."

The SLLA website demands that Linden give Second Life residents
"basic rights" by going public and allowing each avatar to buy a
share of stock at a set price.

In instances where residents feel harassed by the SLLA, Linden
will dole out temporary banishment or other such penalties as
outlined in the virtual world's written terms of service, according
to Smith.

Linden seem to be quite capable of creating lots of "virtual reality" spin. Most of it is just that, spin.

What's the real active userbase on Second Life. It's certainly no 4 million. Maybe 100K?

What's WOW's? 5 million (active).

Wait till Linden announce the first virtual "murder", virtual "rape", virtual "heist", virtual "law system", or maybe even a virtual "orgy"! woohoo...

There already has been a case of 'virtual rape'. Wasn't part of a game tho

I found SL very boring and buggy... But well sometimes even bad products are successfull (thanks to a good marketing)... for some time before the idea is correctly developed by another company and then it gets realy cool

I believe Google has big plans about a SL like using Google Earth. It does make sens

btw, now you can speak within SL

I don't see the point of a game that exactly mirrors reality - if you want reality its right there for the taking

Except maybe as a legal haven.  Gambling (which is illegal with US$ on websites) is rampant on Second Life, where there is a market for the US$/L$ exchange provided by the service provider itself.  With the need for porn socialization and a legal haven for intellectual law-breakers (gambling is an intellectual enterprise, with only cash as the physical product), Second Life provides a safe environment where safety could otherwise be a concern.

Think about it - flirting with complete strangers, acting out fantasies, and finding a poker game where you won't get rolled afterwards are all dangerous tasks because of their criminalization by repressive governments.  People need, and will always find, an outlet.

WOW

It's just so cool 

Virtual terror strikes Second Life

 I had to laugh at that whole article...

just wondering when will George Bush decide to Liberate it!

ha ha

Do they have petrol on SL??

Maybe I'd like second life if I was younger or had more time, but it's too much hard work for not much fun. Warcraft is at least engaging and fun. It has challenges and also has the social interaction.

well regardless of its point and purpose, it seems that this ability to play out almost all your fantasies is what people want...  so if that is what they want they will pay for it... so why does linden labs care about a purpose... its free money rolling in!!

Can avatars save Darfur?

Last month, Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow spoke about Darfur. Nothing remarkable about that, you might think.

Four Corners on ABC (Aust) covered Second Life and the issues it brings up.

You can watch it online as well as interviews with  Philip Rosedale and Ted Castronova

There is no point in comparing Second Life to WOW as they have completely different purposes. 

• WOW is a game, Second Life is actually more akin to a an on-line 3-D sandbox.
• WOW has a closed economy, Second Life's is open -- this has "real world" appeal for retailers. Money talks.
• WOW is a rich, highly interactive tested (supposedly) environment. Second Life lets anyone create their own objects and environments and the pain that comes with that.

I think the best way to think about Second Life and understand why so many real world companies are gaining interest is not because of what it is now (a somewhat second rate graphical experience with a low pop user base) but instead what it represents which is a view that it is one form that a "3D-Internet" might take.  It's actually a relatively low cost entry point for innovative companies that want to see how they might use this and where it might take them.

A lot of uses even by companies like IBM actually revolve around virtual conference attendance (see LotusSphere this year) and ways of stretching their publicity reach beyond the people who can make it to the US.

 Telstra's efforts with BigPond are about understanding how you could do on-line sales in a 3D way and what they can learn from this experience. 

That's really my point, I seriouly doubt many companies are investing in Second Life for what it is now, they are investing to help understand where things are going and what the next generation of Internet and on-line interaction may look like.

Imagine this -- a "real" avatar with your actual body measurements, where you could use Second Life or something similar as an engine to enter a 3D Shop, "try" on clothes for real and see how the look on you, then purchasing.  It may or may not work, but it is something that is being seriously contemplated as a possible future by retailers who are looking for any competitive edge.

Excellent summary, Tim. The trouble with SL is that it is really rather a poor experience : it's slow, buggy, the manipulation interfaces are just awful, the scripting language is an abomination,  the place is just sleazy being filled with casinos, sex clubs and shops selling tarty clothes. (yes, there are nice places too, I know) All this puts people off and may help to disuade someone from developing something that is better  : it's a virtual world for goodness sake, why do I have to have real world limitations, I can fly in SL so why can't I build something that is bigger inside than it is outside? And why do most people make such dull (or at least predictable) avatars in SL?

I just tried out second life for the first time, 20 minutes wandering and the occasional crash left me in mediocre spirits. 

SL is an excellent PR machine, but it's not much of a product.

Bloody second life charged my credit card $1 without me purchasing anything.

It's pointless comparing WoW with SL - WoW is not a real life sim, it appeals mostly to orthodox gamers.   To my knowledge, there are closer to eight million active WoW accounts - and when you consider that there is no such thing as a free account in WoW (aside from 1 month trials which are relatively rare), it had a much larger userbase than SL.  But as Tim says, SL is a sandbox which forms a platform to build a technology for 3d virtual worlds which will almost certainly become the norm in the future, while WoW's only real goal is to create an enthralling gameplay to keep the kids happy, so its apples and oranges really.

When they can make a device that allows you to have wholly believable virtual experiences using all 5 senses, via the internet, it may be a viable replacement for "First Life"

Until then its no more than an amusing distraction (at best)

Also, I hear they can be far too strict in the game on setting rules for each persons little section of place - like banning someone from a virtual club for wandering in without any virtual clothes on

I agree with jgalvin mostly. WoW is a game first with a network of real people playing together. SL is a freakin' chatroom with avatars and raining phalus bombs or whatever, haha (^_-)

Two entirely different platforms.

hehehehe.. phallus bombs

Renault set for Second Life

hmmmm.... maybe my dream of owning an F1 team could be realised in SL! 

SL's server is going open, making me favor it over something closed like WoW

SL has so many more possibilities: Education, architecture and programming come to mind. 

I can't wield poision-dipped daggers or a huge sword in Second Life