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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER, 2007
Get a Second Life Real money in artificial online goods Rhonda Lillie makes about $12,000 a year selling virtual shoes to virtual people in a virtual world. Her Goth-inspired shop, Hearts Desire, opened in February, 2005, in Second Life, the online community where members create computer-simulated images called avatars that wander around, socialize, and spend money—quite a bit. Avatars make about 33 million transactions, worth about $30 million, each month, says Chris Collins, technical assistant for Linden Labs, the San Francisco company that created Second Life in 2003. As of September, 2007, 900 members made more than $1,000 a month doing everything from hawking clothes to acting as architects for virtual stores or McMansions. Says Collins: "Budding entrepreneurs are rushing to set up small businesses here." Second Lifers use real-world credit cards to buy "Linden" dollars for virtual purchases. (The exchange rate is 270 Linden per dollar.) Lillie, 38, who lives in Oxnard, Calif., rents land in Second Life for about $8 a month. She sells her shoes for $4 to $10. Because the shoes are just images, Lillie has an unlimited supply. Lillie, 38, currently does not have a day job. Says Lillie: "I wouldn't have any idea how to run a real-life business."  By Eve Tahmincioglu Edited by Jeremy Quittner
BW MALL
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