Note: I think this is the largest Second Life News post we’ve ever had, so, be sure to click the read more link at the bottom to see the whole post.

From: Intellectual Property Second Life Raises Novel IP Issues Quote from the site - Among them is whether use of a trademark exclusively in a virtual world can be ‘use in commerce.’ The adult entertainment industry is responsible for bringing many of the seminal cases that have shaped intellectual property law on the Internet, from Playboy Enterprises Inc. giving rise to the “initial interest confusion” test for trademark infringement, to Perfect 10 shaping the contours of search engine liability. And now a company named Eros LLC is seeking to join their ranks.

From: Daily Trojan ITP takes appropriate step going virtual Quote from the site - The scavenger hunt’s rules are undeniably simple: Solve three clues over three weeks and be entered into a lottery that pays out an iPod nano, an iPod shuffle and a $30 iTunes gift certificate. So what’s the catch? Participants will hunt for the clues in a virtual world.

From: Business Communicators of Second Life A Marketer’s Blindness: Avatars Don’t Lie Quote from the site - Having myself been quoted out of context and wishing I could die over it, I’m working very hard to give Mark Hughes (author of Buzz Marketing?) the benefit of the doubt.

From: No 7 on Second Life Weblog The Place of Alts in Second Life Quote from the site - There is a really fascinating, and challenging, piece on Dusan Writer’s Metaverse blog today about the rights and wrongs, good and bad things, about having an alternative avatar in Second Life and other virtual worlds.

From: Israel21c Second Life takes you on a virtual trip to the Holy Land [VIDEO] Quote from the site - Would you like to swim in the coral reef of Eilat or float in the Dead Sea? How about drinking coffee on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, with the waves tickling your toes? Or perhaps a religious pilgrimage to the Old City of Jerusalem is more your thing?

From: Fairfax Digital Tennis bounces back to Second Life Quote from the site - Last year it was by invitation only, but this year IBM is inviting the public to inspect its virtual replica of Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.

From: the Inquirer Bankers ruin things in Second Life Quote from the site - VIRTUAL BANKERS are throwing themselves off skyscrapers as a shutdown of the make-believe banking system is causing real-life havoc for thousands of people, reports the Wall Street Journal.

From: The Independent Cyberclinic: Virtual Populations Quote from the site - The number of people actively exploring an alternate existence in a virtual world just keeps on growing. With last year’s release of The Burning Crusade – an expansion pack for the online role playing game World Of Warcraft – the number of current users of the game has just topped 10 million; in terms of population, that puts World Of Warcraft somewhere between Serbia and Hungary.

From: Tech Daily Dose Duran Duran Inspired By Second Life? Quote from the site - On the way to work on Wednesday, I heard a radio interview with the British boppers who recently put out a new album called “Red Carpet Massacre.” In the XM Satellite Radio spot, they explain that the inspiration for their song “Zoom In” is the popular virtual world Second Life.

From: WhooshUp Second Life Meeting FAQ List Quote from the site - With the official kickoff of Second Life discussion group meetings coming up this Saturday January 26 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time, let’s maintain a checklist of instructions, hints, warnings and frequently asked questions - FAQs.

From: The Changing Face of Media Second Life – Where’s George Bailey and The Bailey Building & Loan When You Need It? Quote from the site - If you didn’t catch The Wall Street Journal today… Robin Sidel did an excellent article on the current monetary/economic tragedy occurring in Second Life.

From: Glass House When A Second Life Is Harder Than The First Quote from the site - I’ve been a skeptic of second life all along, not because I think the premise is wrong, but because the hype was out of control compared to the experience (Hello, media? World of Warcraft? More users? More community engagement?). One of the best lines though was someone who said: “Second Life? I don’t even have time for a first life.”

From: The Risk Factor Second Life Becomes Second Swipe Quote from the site - Linden Lab’s virtual world Second Life has had to crack down on virtual banking, giving them until yesterday to shut down their operations, according to the LA Times.

From: Government Executive NASA’s Second Life Quote from the site - NASA wants to do more than just seek new worlds, it wants to create one. The day after Valentine’s Day, the space agency hopes to receive a pile of five-page proposals detailing how it should go about creating a synthetic online world and a multiplayer game within it.

From: epicenter Crack Down on Banking Causes Second Life Strife Quote from the site - The banking crisis we’re experiencing in our first lives is spilling over into Second Life — sort of. On Tuesday, Linden Lab followed through with plans it announced earlier this month and pulled the plug on a dozen financial institutions in Second Life that “offered interest or any direct return on an investment.”

From: Second Life Research Banking Crisis (also) in Second Life! Quote from the site - The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on the banking crisis in Second Life. “In the real world, banks are reeling from the subprime-mortgage mess. In the online game Second Life, a shutdown of the make-believe banking system is causing real-life havoc for thousands of people.

From: Valleywag Second Life’s Pending Crash Quote from the site - Shame on you, Wall Street Journal, for running a front page exposé on the Second Life bank run. Fair enough to report that its banks are collapsing. But mostly, the article will serve to remind Journal readers that second Life is still a going concern.

From: National Post Real life economic woes come to Second Life Quote from the site - While the bricks-and-mortar world reels from the subprime mortgage crisis, the imaginary universe of Second Life is suffering from its own easy-money schemes.

From: Second Life Blog New WindLight Viewer (77495) + Mac talk Quote from the site - Hey all. So, in addition to announcing this WindLight Update’s many important bug fixes, I wanted to discuss some Mac Issues and what you all can expect for their resolution. Firstly, though, the fix list…

From: New World Notes Goth in a Box: Roleplay Goes Prefab Quote from the site - Lately I’ve been impressed by the rising quality of SL builds, not just from individual creators, but in mass-produced, prefab homes sold on Second Life’s open market. Where this was once utterly dominated by generic “McMansions” more fitting to a real world gated community, there seems to be a trend toward mood and roleplay, homes dripping with subculture signifiers.

From: Kotaku Still Alive in Japanese Sung by Computer Quote from the site - A Japanese friend of mine on Second Life (currently an employee of Unicorn Sexxings R’ Us) pointed me towards this video she uploaded of Portal’s “digging itself inside your brain to live” ending theme “Still Alive”, translated into Japanese and completely computer generated, voice and all.

From: Looker Lumet Second Life is after all a very small world Quote from the site - It was an evening like all other evenings, except perhaps that I had to rebuild a part of my house, which had, accidentally, been deleted by someone. Lesson: never clear your inventory inside my house.;)

From: New World Notes The Sound of One Avatar of Pronouncing Tibetan Quote from the site - Here’s why I love Second Life: Because it contains a Resident named Wam7c Macchi. And without fanfare, Wam7c Macchi has built an interactive teaching device.

From: New World Notes 2008 Second Life Predictions, Revealed! Quote from the site - Here they are– thanks to all who voted. Attracting 44% of survey takers is the prediction “Web pages-on-prim technology introduced”, and I have to say, I think that’s more a reflection of hope the Lindens will do so.

From: Gwyn’s Home Anatomy of a Griefer Quote from the site - Like it or not, you cannot be impassive to it:Julian Dibbell’s Wired article on griefing, specifically what we’re experiencing in Second Life — organized griefing — may very well become the ultimate reference essay on description and motivation in the mind of the griefer.

From: Business Communicators of Second Life Nine Questions on Virtual World Market Research Quote from the site - Mary Ellen Gordon of Market Truths is by far the single most knowledgeable and experienced person (and avatar) doing market research in Second Life. She is highly respected by both the business and academic research community in Second Life - and she has been very generous with her knowledge within the SL Business Communicators community in-world.

Check out this take on griefing in Second Life from Cecil Hirvi. Via Massively.

From: Second Life Blog Havok4 Early Adopter Program Returns to Second Life Quote from the site - As mentioned in an earlier post, we found an issue with the previous beta version that caused us to revert the initial regions to our standard simulator. That issue, and a set of others, have now been resolved, and we are in the process of re-deploying the new Havok4 Beta simulator to all current participants in the Havok4 Early Adopter Program (please see the linked page for the original announcement and details).

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