Second Life is Not Next Life !

You think a techie and a web-savvy person would know? Not Mr. H, who spends most of his awake time in front of a computer - websurfing and logging to techie forums here and there. He asked me, "Second life? As in, your life after this one? But it can be your third life... and what if you reincarnate as a bird?!"

Mr. H, in Second Life, we can chose to be anything we want to be. You see, SL is a web-based 3D virtual world. Much like an online role-playing game, but more. In Second Life:

• You have an online identity or avatar, its look limited only by your creativity or fantasy. My avatar is a pony-tailed, sexy girl in denim pants, body-hugging shirt and comfy sandals - my look when I was in college years ago. Beep... Ok, drop the sexy. :-) I am not stuck with this look though. In SL you can change your look anytime. I can transform my avatar to a more voluptuous virtual-me in a daring outfit, or a prim and proper barbie-like princess.

• You can socialize with other SL residents in cafes, bars, go dancing at clubs, or be by your lone self and visit a zoo, a planetarium, a botanical garden, a beach. Tour a replica of Moscow's Red Square, Beijing's Forbidden City, or France's Chateau de Versailles. Take pics for souvenir!
  

• You can go shopping, watch concerts, sport events. Get into sports that you'll never be able to, in real life. Don't need to worry about falling off board when you windsurf at SL.
  

• You can run a business - a REAL business. SL residents trade in Linden dollars L$ with L$263=US$1. But you can get by in SL without money. Like I do.
  

• You can attend meetings, trainings, virtual classes about SL and real life topics. For example, you can learn basic German, conversational English or software skills such as digital photo editing.

In SL, you can do almost anything, be anybody and be anywhere you like. So you see Mr. H, Second Life is not the Next Life!