The greatest draw of any video game is the chance for you, as the gamer, to lead a second life. You can be a hero, a villain, or someone that only exists in your imagination.

There are games that cast you as a legendary figure that frees the land from an evil force, games that cast you as a race car driver, and games that cast you as a S.W.A.T. team leader, but there are some games that don’t really fit any conventional definitions of what we consider genres of video games.

One such game is Second Life. Second Life is much like The Sims and its online counterpart The Sims Online, in that you lead a second life in a world modeled on the real world. The Sims really created a revolution in simulation games and started something that had never been done in gaming. If there’s one conventional definition of gaming that these simulations actually fit, it would be the fact that you can lead another life completely different from the one you have in the real world.

Second Life gives you the opportunity to buy, sell, and trade property in a virtual world with land, shopping centers, and residential housing. The game has its own currency, which you can get by putting real US dollars into the game. With these Linden Dollars you can start to build a new lifestyle for yourself in the game. The great thing is that users can actually make real money back by buying and selling things back for a profit. In addition to its economic elements, Second Life serves as a unique social network where you can talk with others freely and engage in marketplace type discussions. There is even a radio station with user made pieces.

Some people can make a real living off the game, while some simply just play the game for fun. Although it may seem pointless to begin leading a “Second Life” on the internet, there is no denying the appeal of seeing yourself in a virtual world, networking socially with a whole host of other virtual people.

Second Life is over 6 million strong, but whether it can continue its popularity remains to be unseen. I think if Linden Labs continues to add new content and more options for users, they will continue to enjoy their current success.

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