Second Life Money

Second Life is a virtual world that lets you create and assume a different personality. Or if you prefer, different personalities.

It's a very elaborate game cum chat room cum virtual business world. That's right. It lets you do business, except that you'll have to do it online.

And where there's business, there's money to be made. Here's how you can start earning money today by playing Second Life.

Second Life is not a blank space online. It is actually a full-blown city. Or perhaps we should say country. Already, it offers 800 million sq. m. of land online that continues to expand and be developed. This is the playground where money is exchanged (over $6 million a month to be exact).

Because it's a virtual world, Second Life also has virtual money and it's called Linden Dollars, represented as L$. This is the medium of exchange that your Second Life avatar will use to trade services and goods.

How you'll earn money on Second Life

There are several money making methods you can use when you become an avatar on Second Life. To participate, you must become a Premium member (costs $9.95 a month). You will then receive a weekly stipend of L$ 300. At the current exchange rate of L$250 for every $1, that's still small change.

To make more money, you need to do a few things. These are:

Work for pay.

For most of us in the real world, this is what we do. It also works on Second Life. You can offer services to other avatars and then get paid for it. Depending on what you do, you can earn a respectable amount. If you're the lazy type, you can even 'camp' at other avatar's virtual establishments. Many gamers invite others to hang out just to increase their activity level and generate more interest.

Offer services.

Again, it's just like in the real world, where you can exchange goods and services for Linden money. Be a tattooist, a wedding planner or an interior designer and charge your clients.

Sell real estate.

This is where most of the big money on Second Life is made. If you looked at how this game is built, it's actually based heavily on the available land that gamers can play on. But what will you do with a vacant lot? Why, develop it, of course! That's how you can persuade others to come to you and buy something from you.

To sell real estate, you must be able to develop it. This is much like real life construction, except that you will be building online. This requires a certain amount of skill, so if you want to design the structure itself, learn graphics. If not, get someone to do it for you. The more useful and innovative your structure is, the more people will be interested to buy it. This is how you'll make money on Second Life.

If building is not your thing but selling is, become a real estate broker. There are several Second Life companies that allow you to sell or lease properties for them. In return, you get a percentage of the price.

Sell stuff online.

Another way to make money on Second Life is to open a store. Sell clothing, furnishings, gadgets, even high-fashion stuff. But be original, though. There are many established Second Life stores (including a few brand names) that you will have to compete with. However, once you've made your mark, there's good money to be made.