Second Life is an online social networking community, one which allows you to buy virtual property, sell virtual clothes, network with other users and act out impossible fantasies — all through a digital representation of yourself called an “avatar.” Since its creation in 2003, this phenomenon has exploded across the Internet.True to its real world counterpart, Second Life is riddled with subcultures that mirror humanity in a dramatic, transparent way. While many use the site as a perverse form of entertainment, other users spend their time in virtual cafes chatting about philosophy, politics and current events.”Second Life allows me to connect with other people easily,” Second Life user Evangeline Ametza said. “And this is far better than regular chat because Second Life mimics the real world. You feel like you’re really there with everyone.”It sounds perfectly harmless and even constructive, Ametza added. But she admitted there is “a darker side to Second Life, just as there is in real life.”The “darker side” becomes visible once you check the “show mature” box on the Second Life search engine. Most mature areas are usually marked by one of two things — they either feature explicit sex or explicit violence. The former is the most prominent, especially when it comes to making money in Second Life.It comes as no surprise that Second Life’s sex industry is thriving. Sex already sells well in real life, which is fraught with inhibitions and taboo, so it’s only natural virtual sex would sell even more, given the anonymous and uninhibited nature of the transactions.   To understand the lure, you simply have to understand one of the most basic facets of human nature. We tend to respond to pleasure. That response is more dramatic in an emotionally vulnerable individual. Therefore, while an emotionally sound person may play Second Life and find it dull, an emotionally unstable person may play it obsessively and consequently blur the lines between fantasy and reality.Take the case of Ric Hoogestraat for example. Hoogestraat became increasingly obsessed with Second Life to the point of neglecting his real life. He eventually met a redheaded avatar, fell in love with her and asked her to be his virtual wife. His real wife was not amused.”Everybody has their hobbies, but when it’s from six in the morning until two in the morning, that’s not a hobby, that’s your life,” Hoogestraat’s wife said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.However, Second Life should not be written off completely because of a few obsessive individuals. This virtual world has allowed for new kinds of research and commerce, a development which caught the attention of LSU. The University’s Center for Computation and Technology launched an impressively accurate replica of the campus to serve as a base for students’ digital work.  User Komoda Kalamunda, who is a sophomore at the University, showcases her artwork on Second Life to rake in a little cash each month.Her avatar has had its share of strange adventures, one which entailed her getting pregnant by spiders and unicorns simultaneously. But she says her true purpose in Second Life is more serious. She networks with fellow artists to better understand the blurring of fantasy and reality as part of her independent research.Researchers like Kalamunda maintain Second Life as a meeting place for intelligent discourse, rather than a breeding ground for perversion.Because Second Life is not bound by time or space, it is ideal for furthering research and commerce for users willing to invest their time and talent.Linnie Leavines is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Central City.—-Contact Linnie Leavines at [email protected]