MOLI VIEW™

"I think a virtual world online is inevitable," said Aimee Weber, the designer for the Second Life virtual space of Sushi Samba (a popular Miami and New York restaurant). Second Life, as the website describes it, is "a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe."

I sat patiently as it was explained to me that I could create a character for myself — my "avatar," who could then travel the virtual world, meet people, and have lots of fun doing stuff like virtual eating, getting virtually drunk, and taking virtual salsa lessons (virtual exercise!). I could meet other avatars, maybe even for virtual love and long-term lasting relationships. Maybe I could even virtually breed (snicker)? I could also spend money in my Second Life. I could translate some US dollars into Second Life's own currency, Linden dollars, at an exchange rate of about $1US to $300 Linden. Well, that's the best exchange rate the US dollar is getting anywhere these days.

What would my avatar do with my Linden money in my Second Life? Well, I could build my dream home or a business that I could then host events in and potentially make money, or I could visit other people's virtual worlds and spend money buying their stuff. But since I'm a travel writer, I was much more interested in the idea of buying my own private island and turning it into a Richard Branson-style Necker Island exclusive six-star resort. I could invite poor, landlocked, overworked, or afraid-of-flying types to come on vacation here in their Second Lives. Islands are priced at US$1,675 for 65,536 square meters (about 16 acres), and monthly land fees for maintenance are just US$295 — even I could afford that!

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