Real Currency Economies: Using Real Money in Virtual Words

Continuing improvements in computing power and high-speed Internet access have led to an explosion in the popularity of multi-player online environments. In addition to providing a new form of entertainment, several of these environments have proven useful for educational activities. Specifically, the Second Life environment, which provides a physics and graphics engine for anyone to display 3D content, has received significant attention within the academic community. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga recently used Second Life as a platform for a senior capstone project. We describe our experiences and evaluate Second Life as a virtual environment. The evaluation includes a discussion on several unique aspects of Second Life. Specifically, player ownership of virtual property and the express provision for transfers between real currency and the virtual Linden$; this raises some interesting unresolved financial and legal questions for future projects.