Linden Laboratories, in the San Francisco, California area launched Second Life in June of 2003. At first, the business and academic worlds dismissed it as an involved and immersive video game, providing its participants with lots of mind candy and little else.
When the technology behind the virtual world evolved, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and even the ivory towers of academia took notice. Consumer products companies place products in the virtual world, real life job interviews for real world jobs have taken place there, and real world librarians work in virtual libraries in Second Life. The opportunities for social interaction in the virtual world quickly led to the development of one of the most popular aspects of Second Life: virtual sex.
Avatars Designed by the Player can do Anything
Upon installing the software and entering the world of Second Life, the choice of an avatar confronts the new participant. For both sexes, the default avatars come in a range of ten body types and styles. The user can make several modifications, such as height, hair and eye color, and the size and shape of the limbs and torso. Each participant can choose a first and last name for their new cyber identity, and when everything is set, the new citizen is free to roam.
Everything is for Sale and Participants can Become Whoever they Want to Be
Basically, it is free to participate in Second Life. New players will quickly find virtual stores that provide a wide array of free clothing and various virtual gadgets and toys. Yet, if a citizen wants to mold a truly beautiful avatar that is capable of everything, he or she must shop at stores that charge Linden dollars for super realistic skins, hair, and um...other body parts.
Players can buy Linden dollars with real world money at the exchange rate of approximately one George Washington dollar for 300 Linden dollars. The best skin, hair, shapes and clothing can cost thousands of Linden dollars.
Down to the Nitty Gritty: What is Second Life sex all about?
Sex in Second Life works similarly to sex in real life in most respects. A man avatar and a woman avatar can meet in a variety of settings: sports such as skiing or scuba, wide arrays of various types of night clubs and social group meetings.
Mostly, people communicate through messaging although voice communication is available through microphones. When nature takes its course and passions take things to the next level, many participants own virtual homes equipped with beds and couches with intricate user interfaces and...well, you get the idea.
Real World Issues caused by Cyber World Sex
Okay, so if a man in Los Angeles is having Second Life Sex with a woman in Australia, and one of them is married in the real world, are they committing adultery? It's just harmless fun, right? Just pixels on a screen converging together to create cartoonlike sex, right?
While virtual, cybersex can generate real world passions and emotions and situations just like the one previously described have played out in many real world divorce courts. Or how about this one: if two players are having cybersex and one has chosen a child avatar, is this considered child pornography? A recent case in Germany explored this very situation. It all goes to show that while it may be a virtual world, real world standards for decency still apply.
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