Second Life for a Second Time

So, I get home from work yesterday, and my husband starts asking me about Second Life!! He works for a medical journal and is investigating ways to build a virtual community from the journal's reader base. As such, he is curious how Second Life actually works, how much it costs, and what is involved with implementing it.

I'm always happy to do a little research, so here is what I found out from the Second Life website.

About Second Life
I didn't really go into this much in my first post about this game, and I apologize. Here is a nice description of Second Life taken from their website:

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 5,868,749 people from around the globe.

The most important thing about the world of Second Life is that it is constantly changing and growing. Here's why:

* Thousands of new residents join each day and Create an Avatar
* Those avatars Explore the World and Meet People
* These people discover the thousands of ways to Have Fun
* Some people decide to purchase Virtual Land, which allows them to open a business, build their own virtual paradise, and more!


Registration
Over 5 million users have signed up to play Second Life. Signing up involves registering with the following information:

1)your avatar name (you can choose your own first name, but must pick from a list of last names)
2) your birthdate
3) a valid e-mail address
4) selecting 1 of 8 basic avatar looks. Your look can be changed after your registration is complete
5) your real name
6) a password
7) a security question
8) what news/updates you wish to receive via e-mail
9) agreeing to the terms of service

Also, they will probably ask for credit card information even if you sign up for the free basic package.


System Requirements

Minimum PC Requirements
* Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
* Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)
NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support Windows Vista
* Computer Processor: 800MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better
* Computer Memory: 256MB or better
* Video/Graphics Card:
o nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better
o OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better

Preferred PC Requirements
* Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
* Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)
NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support Windows Vista
* Computer Processor: 1.6GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon 2000+ or better
* Computer Memory: 512MB or better
* Video/Graphics Card:
o nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
o OR ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better


Price/Fee Structure

There are 3 levels of registration. They are explained below:

First Basic Registration
Free! No monthly fee involved. This first level of registration gives you a customizable avatar, a sign-up bonus of $250 of "Linden dollars" or virtual money that you can use in-game (you have to enter a valid credit card number to get the virtual money), and the ability to build objects in "sandbox" areas (free temporary building zones).

Additional Basic Registration
One-time fee of $9.95. The second level of registration offers everything the first level does, so I'm not really clear on the difference between the two.

Premium Registration
Pay a monthly fee of $9.95 + land use fees or island billing fees. (I'll get to the land use and island billing fees in a minute). This third level of registration offers everything from the Basic Registration as well a sign-up bonus of $1,000 Linden dollars plus a $300 Linden dollar weekly stipend, 512 square meters of land for no additional charge, and the ability to build, store, and display projects on your land.

LAND USE FEES:
As a premium account user, you can have 512 square meters of land for $0 of land use fees. Anything over and above those 512 square meters require you to pay a monthly fee. The fee is based on how much land you have (not counting your free 512 square meters):

Amount of land (per square meters):
512: $5 a month
1024: $8 a month
2048: $15 a month
4096: $25 a month
8192: $40 a month
16,384: $75 a month
32,768: $125 a month
65,536: $195 a month

ISLAND BILLING:
Rather than just buying a parcel of land on Second Life, you can purchase a 65,536 square meter island which is ideal for huge projects needing lots of space. Once you own an island, you can give a rating to it (e.g. PG or Mature), customize it using your own terrain, buy several islands and group them to make a demi-continent, and even limit access to the island so that only certain users can visit. The pricing structure for islands appears below:

For typical users: $1675 one time fee + $295 of monthly land use fees

For educators or non-profits: $980 one time fee + $150 of monthly land use fees

However, educators and non-profits are required to pay for at least 6 months in advance when purchasing an island.


Conclusion
Well, that's Second Life in a REALLY big nutshell, folks!! Now that you all know a little more about this, what do you think?