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''Second Life'' is an online virtual world, developed by Linden Lab, based in San Francisco, and launched on June 23, 2003. By 2013 Second Life had approximately 1 million regular users, according to Linden Lab, which owns ''Second Life''. In many ways, ''Second Life'' is similar to MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games); however, Linden Lab is emphatic that their creation is not a game: "There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective". The virtual world can be accessed freely via Linden Lab's own client programs, or via alternative Third Party Viewers.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Download the free Second Life viewer )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Third Party Viewer Directory – Second Life Wiki )〕 ''Second Life'' users (also called Residents) create virtual representations of themselves, called avatars and are able to interact with other avatars, places or objects. They can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, build, create, shop and trade virtual property and services with one another. It is a platform that principally features 3D-based user-generated content. ''Second Life'' also has its own virtual currency, the Linden Dollar, which is exchangeable with real world currency.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Second Life turns 10: what it did wrong, and why it may have its own second life )〕 ''Second Life'' is intended for people aged 16 and over, with the exception of 13–15-year-old users restricted to the ''Second Life'' region of a sponsoring institution (e.g. school).〔(Terms of Service | Second Life )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Teens in Second Life )〕 Built into the software is a three-dimensional modeling tool based on simple geometric shapes that allows residents to build virtual objects. There is also a procedural scripting language, Linden Scripting Language, which can be used to add interactivity to objects. Sculpted prims (sculpties), mesh, textures for clothing or other objects, animations, and gestures can be created using external software and imported. The ''Second Life'' terms of service provide that users retain copyright for any content they create, and the server and client provide simple digital rights management (DRM) functions.〔 However, Linden Lab changed their terms of service in August 2013, to be able to use user-generated content for any purpose. The new terms of service prevent users from using textures from 3rd-party texture services, as some of them pointed out explicitly. Users can also photograph in ''Second Life'' with the camera technology the client programs have. == History == In 1999, Philip Rosedale formed Linden Lab with the intention of developing computer hardware to allow people to become immersed in a virtual world. In its earliest form, the company struggled to produce a commercial version of the hardware, known as "The Rig", which in prototype form was seen as a clunky steel contraption with computer monitors worn on shoulders.〔Au, Wagner James. ''The Making of Second Life'', pg. 19. New York: Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-135320-8.〕 That vision changed into the software application Linden World, in which people participated in task-based games and socializing in a three-dimensional online environment.〔 〕 That effort eventually transformed into the better known, user-centered ''Second Life''.〔 〕 Although he was familiar with the metaverse of Neal Stephenson's novel ''Snow Crash'', Rosedale has said that his vision of virtual worlds predates that book, and that he conducted early virtual world experiments during his college years at the University of California, San Diego, where he studied physics. In 2005 and 2006, ''Second Life'' began to receive a lot of media attraction, including a cover story on ''BusinessWeek'' magazine featuring the virtual world and ''Second Life'' avatar Anshe Chung. By that time, Anshe Chung had become ''Second Life''s poster child and symbol for the economic opportunities that the virtual world offers to its residents. At the same time, the service saw a period of exponential growth of its user base. On December 11, 2007, Cory Ondrejka, who helped program ''Second Life'', was forced to resign as chief technology officer. In January 2008, residents spent a total of 28,274,505 hours "inworld" and on average 38,000 residents were logged in at any particular moment. The maximum concurrency (number of avatars inworld) recorded is 88,200 in the 1st qtr. 2009〔(the-second-life-economy—first-quarter-2009-in-detail ). For the latest data, visit (economy_stats ), from which the quoted numbers were taken.〕 On March 14, 2008, Rosedale announced plans to step down from his position as Linden Lab CEO and to become chairman of Linden Lab's board of directors. Rosedale announced Mark Kingdon as the new CEO effective May 15, 2008. In 2010, Kingdon was replaced by Rosedale, who took over as Interim CEO. After four months Rosedale abruptly stepped down from the Interim CEO position. It was announced in October 2010, that Bob Komin, Linden Lab's chief financial officer and chief operating officer, would take over the CEO job for the immediate future. In 2008, ''Second Life'' was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the development of online sites with user-generated content. Rosedale accepted the award. In May 2009, concurrent users averaged about 62,000.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=New graph: Median Second Life user concurrency )〕 As of May 2010, concurrent users averaged about 54,000.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Second Life concurrency finally stabilising )〕 According to Tateru Nino of Engadget, the decline was due to new policies implemented by Linden Lab reducing the number of bots and campers. In June 2010, Linden Lab announced layoffs of 30% of its workforce.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title='Second Life' Owner Linden Lab to Lay Off 30% of Its Workers )〕 In November 2010, 21.3 million accounts were registered, although the company has not made public figures for actual long-term consistent usage. However, Wagner James Au, who blogs and writes about ''Second Life'', said in April 2013 that he had it on "good authority" that "''Second Life''s actual active userbase is about 600,000".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title='Now With 300K Members, Second Life's Facebook Page is By Far SL's Largest Social Media Presence' )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Second Life」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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