Can People Actually 'Own' Virtual Land?

(CNN) -- Zed Drebin has a pretty fantastical life.

He owns a house on the beach, which he's styled to be part Barbie castle and part medieval lair. In addition, he is the landlord of two island colonies, both of which feature spaceships, amusement parks and all kinds of futuristic buildings. About 80 renters pay to live in themed condos at his getaway resorts.

For all of this, Drebin pays only $390 a month, he said.

But there's one big flaw in this space-themed paradise: None of it is real. Zed Drebin is an avatar in the virtual world of Second Life. He's controlled by Arthur, a man who works for a hedge fund in New York City, and who didn't want his full name used for fear it would hurt his business.

Despite the fact that Arthur pays U.S. dollars to "own" virtual land in Second Life, and that his renters also pay him in real money, it's unclear whether he, or any of Second Life's "residents," have lasting rights to these virtual tracts...

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Airmen To Live Out Their Careers In Cyberspace

ORLANDO, Fla. — Air Force officials anticipate a world in which every recruit receives an avatar upon joining the service.

These avatars would follow airmen through their entire careers, earning promotions and educational credits and even moving with them to new offices and bases.

This would take place in simulated worlds that mirror the service’s actual facilities.
“Everyone who comes into the Air Force will be given an avatar, and that avatar travels with them, grows with them, changes appearance with them,” said Larry Clemons, of the Air Education and Training Command. “It will provide them a history of where they’ve been and a notion of where they’re going.”

It’s part of the Air Force’s MyBase program, a plan to modernize the service’s education and marketing initiatives. The effort dates back to early 2008, when Air Education and Training Command released a paper outlining next-generation learning environments complete with virtual worlds, online classes and aggressive outreach strategies involving webcam chats with potential recruits and online contract forms.

The initiative is still in its test stages, and officials later will decide whether to carry it out in full.

The Air Force has already launched the marketing campaign component of MyBase. At this year’s Defense GameTech Users’ Conference, Clemons took audience members on a tour of the service’s publicly available cyberhub, a mock base where it hopes to attract new recruits.

The base exists in Second Life, a virtual world that is inhabited by millions of avatars controlled by the program’s users. It was created in 2003 by a company called Linden Lab. The Air Force now owns 12 regions of Second Life land — which is sold on a real estate market for real-life dollars...

Virtual Reality Makes Real World Cash, Boosts Self-Esteem

FarmVille, Wee World, Second Life Attract Millions of Users, But at What Cost to Society?

...Sal9000 paid real money to marry a virtual woman, and he is not alone. Well, technically he's not.

Worldwide, millions are offering up their credit cards to create their own avatar in Wee World, advance their criminal empire in Mafia World, or explore, interact and travel in a virtual world in Second life.

Entropia-dot-com boasts a virtual universe with a real-life cash economy. One user bought a virtual space resort for $100,000...