Tired of Your Current Life? Have a Second Life...

Ok, so I never thought I'd be talking about a game; although with economic problems that would give Greenspan headaches, it doesn't feel like a game.

It all started when when I came across an article called How Much for a Jetpack? about Second Life as I was reading Newsweek on my flight back from North Carolina. I had to check it out for myself. It's sort of like Myst in that you're plunked on an unknown world you have to explore, but unlike Myst you have a body (avatar) that you can fly or walk around. Flying is definitely the way to go. What's weird is that you can see and talk to other players avatars. They walk or fly past your avatar (or bump into you, which you can report as an assault), and freakiest of all, they talk to you in realtime. Yikes.

So, there my avatar was looking at a chestboard and contemplating how to sit down when another avatar came up and asked how I liked Second Life (guess she could tell I was a newbie). Confusing, but intriguing.