Infopirate.org

Men stand further away from other men in Second Life just as in the real world, according to a team of researchers who spent countless hours measuring interpersonal distance (that’s IPD for you social-science types) among avatars.They also claim that men maintain less eye contact than woman, although I’m not sure I buy that one [...]

AMSTERDAM, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Virtual enactments of child pornography in virtual worlds like Second Life may be a crime under Dutch law if it encourages child abuse, the public prosecutor said on Wednesday.Some Second Life users participate in “age play,” in which they can create child-like avatars and have virtual sex that would be [...]

This is the question asked in this article exploring Second Life and the virtual world. It's a really excellent analysis, so make sure to check it out.

Included in a new survey that Linden Labs is doing is question #3 "Would you like the option to hold or move your balances to a Second Life Branded Mastercard or Visa debit card?" While just a survey question, it implies a new direction in the integration of the SL virtual economy and the real-world one.

Themed sims, from 1980's New York to the sci-fi world of Frank Herbert's Arrakis, use art, homage and roleplay to create some of Second Life's most beautiful and inventive environments.