Program Description: Once upon a time there was a man who had a vision. A vision to create a whole new virtual world . . .
So begins the story of Second Life, the virtual world that has millions of people around the world living out their fantasy lives online. In Second Life, players create avatars - their virtual world characters - and do things they can only dream of in real life, such as start a virtual fashion business, build cathedrals, become a cyber celebrity, buy an island or just live as a fantasy creature.
But there is more to Second Life than meets the eye. IDEAL WORLD follows the fascinating development of this idea from its humble origins to the global phenomenon it has become. As the line between fantasy and reality has blurred, players have created a virtual society with a government and economy of its own. Second Life's currencies now trade against the dollar on eBay at rates that are sometimes higher than the dollar and the yen. And the players who inhabit these synthetic worlds are starting to spend more time online than at their day jobs.
With more than ten million active players worldwide - and with Microsoft and Sony pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into video games development - online games have become too big to ignore. IDEAL WORLD investigates this phenomenon and reveals the amazing potential - and unforseen problems - of this brave new world.
Ideal World