![]() Now comes Alderman's SexGen suit, which was filed July 3 and seeks unspecified damages. gambling laws when members cashed in Lindens for real money. Last month, Linden Lab shut down gambling in Second Life after concerns arose that virtual games of chance might violate U.S. Last year, Second Life was rocked by a scandal over users who had modified their avatars to look like children and simulated pedophilia. "Virtually every aspect of real life is getting duplicated, and all the laws that can be applied to the real world are being applied in Second Life," said Jorge Contreras Jr., an intellectual-property attorney in Washington, D.C. ![]() ![]() He is investing in a $25,000 motion-capture suit, a low-end version of one used to create digital characters in movies, to create more realistic sex moves for Second Life avatars.Īs customers demand more real life in Second Life, though, these virtual creations can collide with reality. Along with programmers and designers, he employs a sales staff who hang around the shop like real salespeople to pitch the perfect sex toys. With a little cash, users can also have people like Alderman transform the avatars for them.Īt Alderman's virtual storefront inSecond Life, shoppers can try out a dragon bed powered by one of his SexGen engines. Virtual money, called Lindens, can be exchanged with real dollars at an average rate of about 270 Lindens to the dollar.Īvatars can be equipped with flowing gowns and tiny tattoos, and users with programming and Photoshop skills can reshape themselves into a virtual Greta Garbo or just about any shape imaginable. A 16-acre virtual island costs $1,675 plus monthly maintenance fees of $295. Linden Lab provides a free basic avatar, a 3-D virtual representation of the user in male or female form. San Francisco-based Linden Lab describes it as "an online digital world imagined, created & owned by its residents." There are no dragons to slay or other traditional game objectives. In 2005, Japanese media reported that a Chinese exchange student was arrested for stealing virtual items from other players in an online game, "Lineage II." However, Linden Labs itself has been sued more than once by subscribers over seizures of virtual property. The purpose of this suit is not only to protect our income and our product, but also to show, yes, you can be prosecuted and brought to justice."Ĭatherine Smith, director of marketing for Second Life-creator Linden Lab, said she knew of no other real-world legal fight between two avatars. "I guess the mentality is that because you're an avatar. "We confronted him about it and his basic response was, 'What are you going to do? Sue me?"' Alderman said. ![]() Alderman, who runs his business from home in a Tampa suburb, allows users to transfer his products, but prohibits copying. District Court in Tampa, last month alleging an avatar named Volkov Catteneo broke the program's copy protection and sold unauthorized copies. Avatars click on the object and choose from a menu of animated sex acts.Īlderman filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. It is software code, written in the scripting language of Second Life, and placed in virtual furniture and other objects. ![]() The $45 SexGen animates amorous avatars in erotic positions. One of his creations, the SexGen Platinum, has gotten so popular that he's now had to hire lawyers to track down the flesh-and-blood person behind the online identity, or avatar, that he says illegally copied and sold it. The 46-year-old entrepreneur recognized four years ago that people would pay to equip their online selves - which start out with the smooth anatomy of a Barbie or Ken doll - with realistic genitalia and even more to add some sexy moves.īusiness at Eros, Alderman's company, has been brisk. TAMPA - Kevin Alderman didn't bring sex to Second Life. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |