The majority of the adult American population over the age of 18 is unfamiliar with the ever-growing virtual community known as Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab, which offers its residents a place to connect, a place to shop, a place to work, and a place to love. There are many benefits for people to create a Second Life for themselves. Residents of Second Life are given the ability to explore any region they choose, allowing them to be themselves or even someone different. For many it is an experience of liberation from the daily routine of “real life”. The virtual Second Life experience also has sound; loud conversations, babbling streams, wind in the swaying trees, built-in chat and instant messaging. Residents buy properties, play with other residents, create things, join clubs, take classes, start businesses, or just hang out. Second Life's presentation is extraordinary, making it a significant, almost guilty indulgence. Before embarking on a journey in Second Life, you must first create an avatar. New Second Life users choose between standard male and female avatars. Residents and their avatars don't always choose the gender they are in real life. Once the gender choice is complete, residents continue to customize their avatar's appearance in a way that they feel best suits their style, or the Second Life "lifestyle" they have selected. For example, an experienced user can create a cat that follows him everywhere. Residents build things for different reasons. Many do this to reinforce the theme of a certain region or a specific avatar; some build things simply for fun. While Second Life offers a compelling adventure for residents of different... half of paper....... Furthermore, whether going to parties with friends or playing alone, the goal is essentially the same ; to have fun. The advantages of living a Second Life are many. People enter this virtual world for the freedom to do whatever they choose; Second Life offers its residents many possibilities to be and do whatever their imaginations will allow them to do. There is the originality of creating and building, as well as the ability to perform and simply have fun, but there are also many relationships and friendships that form in this online world. These are common attachments that extend beyond Second Life and into the real world, that affect the user's state of mind long after they turn off the computer, and that they value and hold in high regard as much - if not more more - than their real-world relationships.