Being a virtual world that allows in-game transactions using real life money, Second Life can have some devastating effects on people's personal lives if they invest too much time - and money - in the game. Such was the case when Linden Labs pulled the plug on several banks in Second Life. Details in the full article.

Everyone knows that scammers are everywhere, even online. Because of this, Linden Lab has published a nifty guide that will help Second Life netizens check if a third-party Linden dollar seller is legit or not. More details in the full article.

It's midnight. Do you know where your  dollars are? If you're a Second Life citizen, now you can find out, thanks to Linden Lab's new account statement feature. With all the business that have taken root in Second Life, it's always a good idea to know where your money is going.

Want to know how Linden Lab's new feature works? Read on after the jump!

With the presence of mature content in the virtual world known as Second Life, Linden Lab has seen it fit to introduce an Age Verification feature into their Second Life beta as a means of warning minors and other adults who may prefer to stay away from adult content.

Find out how the new feature works after the jump!

Security analysts spotted a serious exploit in Linden Lab's Second Life, and not even the tried-and-tested methods put up to avoid getting hacked can save you. This hack will let the attacker take over one's Second Life character AND the victim's PC. Read the full article to read more and to see the video.

Major news cable television network CNN announced today their plans of entering Linden Lab's MMORPG virtual society Second Life in the hope to understand what's making news in the new territory. According to the company, it will also be encouraging Second Life residents to submit reports to its virtual I-Report hub.

Read the full details of this development right after the jump!

The presence of red light activities in Linden Lab's roleplaying virtual world Second Life is already old news, what with the prostitution industry already getting ahold of a piece of virtual Second Life property and offering their carnal services to interested clients. However, much more alarming is the presence of child prostitution in Second Life, and its more than just ogling little girls in playgrounds.

A Sky News reporter created a Second Life avatar for the very purpose of investigating the matter, and he found a well-hidden area known as "The Playground" where child-like avatars wearing frilly lace dress and schoolgirl outfits hang out, offering sexual services to those interested. And there's also a mock virtual highschool where roleplayers can abuse young girls in a hidden dungeon underneath the classrooms.

Certainly a disturbing fact, and it is fortunate that the authorities are already investigating the issue. Do check out the embed and see the virtual investigation for yourselves.

In what could be a fitting way to present research and development findings about digital learning toolkits, a research team from the Institute of Digital Learning at the University of Wales, Newport held their forum in a virtual amphitheatre of the popular Second Life. The forum was led by Matt Chilcott through his virtual avatar named Casnewydd Maximus.

Explained Chilcott,

As it replicates real world face-to-face meetings it was a fitting venue for us to explain how we developed our innovative new range of online learning materials which include free interactive games that help people explore topics such as disability, age diversity, racial equality and homelessness.

Chilcott also said that aside from making real-life millionaires through businesses, Second Life by Linden Labs also managed to produce economically successful disabled people, who would otherwise find difficult in achieving the same feat in the real world.

The forum was initiated by the non-profit organization TechSoup.org, who invites real-life various technologists and policy makers to discuss various ways to help out in the charity as well as the non-profit sectors.

Linden Lab has recently updated the Terms of Service for Second Life giving users an out-of-court settlement option if they have some issues with the virtual world or the way the company handles operation. But the thing is, this option only covers cases involving Linden and users, and not users-to-users issues.

Now, six Internet retailers have recently grouped together in the real-world to sue their Second Life adversary for counterfeiting and selling versions of their products. The accused is 36-year old Flushing, New York, resident Thomas Simon and is known in the MMORPG as Rase Kenzo.

The retailers who filed the case are the following: Second Life sex store Strokerz Toyz operator Kevin Alderman, Shannon Grei who sells clothing and "skins" for Second Life characters, Linda Baca of Indiana, Teasa Copprue of Michigan, Kasi Lewis of Georgia, and Michael Hester of Virginia.

According to the six retailers, their products were cloned by Simon using a technical glitch in the Second Life system. Their lawyer, Frank Tanney, had this to say, "This is not a joke. This is not a game. This hurts them". It wasn't specified, however, how much money the six retailers are asking for damages.

When asked about the case, Thomas Simon said that he didn't know that someone can be sued over video games. "They can say whatever they want to say. It's a video game", he added. Linden Lab, finally, has yet to make an official statement regarding the matter.

When virtual worlds collide, what will happen? With Second Life's Linden Labs and IBM trying to do just that, we're about to find out. Both companies are now trying to find ways to let a single online persona access different online games and services, thus breaking virtual barriers. "It's going to happen anyway," said IBM's digital convergence vice president Colin Parris.

One of the things that would happen, according to Linden Labs, is that the more exciting virtual worlds will gain many immigrants and users, while "dull" worlds will lose most of their clients. Certainly an interesting prospect, and will force online gaming developers not to slack off and do their best in improving gaming experience.

Both IBM and Linden have discussed the industry standards expected from implementation of "open virtual world borders" in a recent virtual worlds conference located in San Jose, California.