Second Life seen becoming mainstream

By Georgina Prodhan

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Virtual world Second Life has the potential to become mainstream once computers and connections catch up with the aspirations of its creators, its founder told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

Despite the fact that user growth is slowing as a wave of publicity subsides, Philip Rosedale believes activity will increase 100-fold as improvements in computers and Second Life's own systems make it easier and more fun to become a citizen.

"I estimate we're at 1 percent of total use in 5-10 years," said Rosedale, the chief executive of Linden Lab, which runs Second Life, comparing its trajectory to that of the World Wide Web, which entered the mainstream in the mid-1990s.

Second Life has established a niche following among fans patient enough to grapple with the technology, but many who dabbled when the hype surrounding the virtual world was at its peak were deterred by the time, effort and technology required.

Second Life has about 13 million registered citizens but only a hard core estimated to number several hundred thousand are thought to be regular visitors.

User hours grew by 15 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the fourth quarter of last year, to almost 350 million.

Second Life is an online community with its own currency and a growing economy, where users teleport and fly around the virtual world as "avatars" who interact with other computer-driven alter egos.

Global brands including Reuters Group Plc and IBM set up shop within the virtual world, but many including Time Warner Inc's AOL have since left or radically scaled back their participation.