7. Linden Dollars in Second Life



Here's a currency that exists in a world within a world - the digital community known as Second Life. In this virtual space, people create personas of themselves and interact with others. In Second Life, you use Linden Dollars (L$), named after the company that created Second Life. L$ fluctuate in value, but the exchange is approximately 250 for each dollar. You can convert your currency into L$ of course, but you can also get a “job” and “work” to earn money in order to buy and sell goods and services. While Linden Labs has made recent attempts to curb exchanging L$ for $ between players, it is still possible to use the currency to become wealthy in both the real and virtual world. The most famous example is Anshe Chung, known in the real world as Ailin Graef, who became Second Life's first in-world millionaire by selling virtual real estate. He made the cover of Business Week.