If you could be someone else on the Internet, would you? I'm not talking your IM alter ego, but a whole new you. Different body, hair, eyes, attitude, vocabulary, everything. If you could step completely out of your earthly form and into a virtual you who could do far more, would you? Before you answer, read on.

An avid science fiction fan, I grew up on Cyberpunk novels, including those penned--or typed--by the man who named Cyberspace, William Gibson. Neuromancer, his seminal work, remains as vital in this day of the Internet as it did when he wrote it 20 years ago, before the age of the World Wide Web.

A writer who obviously took some cues from Mr. Gibson is a gentleman by the name of Neal Stephenson. He also write a Cyberpunk novel, his was titled Snow Crash. In this novel, which takes place in the not-too-distant future, people interact online in a 3-D "Metaverse" with avatars they've created of themselves. These avatars are generally who they really wish they could be rather than who they actually are. For example, rather than be a 40-ish overweight housewife, in the Metaverse, that person could be a waif-thin 18 year old free to do what she pleased.

In Stephenson's novel, the idea is that the Internet is one long, never-ending "Main Street." You travel through the Internet simply by taking a stroll down Main Street, where you can enter virtual shops, virtual restaurants and clubs, and interact with the other avatars walking around.

Cool, right?

Well, much sooner than I had anticipated, this notion of a virtual 3-D world in which you can interact with others has become a reality, of sorts. Dubbed "Second Life", the online community already has over 1.5 million "inhabitants" who walk around, entertain themselves, own land, run businesses and more.

I decided to check it out. One of the first things it requires is a broadband connection and a pretty quick computer with good 3-D graphics cards. Even with an Apple dual-processor G5 and fiber connection, I noticed some less-than-smooth action, but overall the experience is much like that of a Third Person video game. Only rather than shooting everything in sight, you're walking around and chatting with fellow inhabitants. It does take some time to develop your avatar, and of course you have to pay for clothing upgrades (a recent news article I read mentioned how a girl made $100,000 by selling her virtual--as in, not real, but electronic--clothing to other Second Lifers to wear in the alternate universe), tattoos, and other body or image modifications that make you stand apart from the rather vanilla avatars people are given when they first join.

Unlike reality, you can fly to get around quicker than walking everywhere, which is pretty cool. After only spending an hour in the Second Life, I see how it can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the Internet and even e-commerce. With people paying Linden and US dollars in Second Life to buy things, land, clothing, etc., the effect will be real. I ticker on the Second Life home page even mentions that over US $651,000 has been spent in the Second Life in the last 24 hours. Not bad.

I'd encourage you to check it out and tell me what you think.

 

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