I started as a Basic user (the free option) to first investigate the world. Premium users pay $US10 a month, for which they get a monthly income (in Linden dollars, which is the currency of Second Life) and a one-off lump sum, sort of like getting a baby bonus. My virus checker popped up at this point, recommending I don't allow Second Life to access the Internet. My virus checker is very wise. Again, as in First Life, I overruled it since I know better.

Even though I'd downloaded and installed the SL client already, I had to download a seemingly identical client when I logged in and then agree to a second lot of Terms (perhaps this is why it's called Second Life). A systems message announcing a temporary service outage and a rolling restart to overcome performance issues followed (I'd have preferred: "The world is closed today, come back tomorrow"). Still, it had a comforting familiarity.

An angry blog reacting to the outage suggested SL should restrict the world to the paying Premium residents and exclude the free-loading Basic people whenever there are performance issues. It's good to know that even in virtual worlds, the Haves perpetuate the class system against the Have-Nots when resources are constrained. Perhaps new players should answer a Second Citizenship questionnaire to keep the wrong kind of avatars out.

I first landed on a tutorial island, where new characters learn how to communicate and improve their appearance. This is also something I can use in First Life, given most of the human colleagues I work with have skipped those steps. I was a little nonplussed that my avatar was walking around naked until I realized that it was because of my fairly new laptop not having sufficient graphics to run SL properly.

To set up an IT Centre, I needed a building, and for that I needed land. After graduating from the tutorial, I had the world at my feet because avatars can fly and teleport. Land is quite cheap considering everyone's land is in fact a tropical island (a limitless supply and no erosion). I teleported to some islands for sale, but didn't know how to distinguish good quality land pixels from the poor ones, so I turned my attention to something I know a little more about: systems for my IT Centre.