In a world where an alternate digital reality is becoming inextricable from physical reality, shopping is no exception.

"Online shopping is the best of both worlds, sitting at home buying things that half the time they don't have ... in the stores," junior Hillary Janison said.

"If it wasn't for eBay, I wouldn't be alive," sophomore Jared Watson said.

One of the most intriguing examples of how electronic commerce evolved is the economics of Second Life, "a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its residents."

Inhabitants of this online world can buy anything "[from] the strobe lights in the nightclubs to the car (or spaceship) in your driveway."

The items that virtual residents create are purchased with Linden dollars (L$). Real-world currencies can be exchanged for Linden cash, creating a deep economic system with real-life implications and spawning professional Second Life market analysts.

The implications of this system create controversy and legal issues. To some, the pervasive and morally questionable online sex services scripted by residents and provided to any Second Life denizen with enough money is patently offensive.

Professor Beliveau, of the Multimedia Program at Bradley University, taught the online course, "Field Research in Second Life," entirely in Second Life last January for university credit, which students had to pay tuition for.

Close to L$510 billion was spent in the Second Life marketplace Friday. An average exchange rate of L$268.07 per one U.S. dollar means that almost two billion U.S. dollars had changed hands that day.

The most expensive purchase made so far this month cost $8,734.08 in U.S. dollars.

Internet commerce is especially relevant to university students because studies have shown that "online shoppers [who] were: younger, wealthier, better educated, more computer literate and more likely to spend time on the computer" were most likely to buy things online.

These attributes generally apply to most college students, the study reports.

While the Web provides unprecedented convenience and near-unlimited product availability, many students still prefer to buy most of their merchandise by analog means.

"[When] you buy [from the] online ... store, [the] policy and customer service aren't really good," sophomore Soyoung Shin said.

The convenience of online shopping might be mitigated by the want of the actual smell and feel of physical stores.

Shin preferred the face-to-face interactions for goods such as food from restaurants, because the employees are more personally invested in the products they provide.

Prudence may also be a factor as exemplified by Shin. "A lot of things I find online are impulsive buys that I don't really need. Even if you do a cost-benefit analysis, you still end up buying stuff you don't really need," she said.

Among the students interviewed, the products most purchased online were apparel, electronics and textbooks.

"Typically, it's a lot cheaper. ... There's no difference in the product itself either, so why not?" senior Walter Hermanowski said.

For the goods he buys online, Hermanowski still utilizes the brick and mortar shops to "check them out, so I know what I want and to find the best deal."

[Reach contributing writer William Kim at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]