''Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds'' is a 2007 book about

virtual community A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual commu ...

, written by author

Tim Guest Tim Guest (16 July 1975 – 31 July 2009) (also known as Yogesh and Errol Mysterio) was an English author and journalist. Early childhood When he was four, Guest was left in the UK by his psychologist mother, Anne Geraghty, who went to India an ...

examines life in

virtual worlds A virtual world (also called a virtual space or spaces) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many simultaneous users who can create a personal avatar and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its acti ...

. He finds some people who claim to have found love and friendship without ever having really met, he looks at companies who have used these virtual worlds to do business including

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and the Metaverse evangelist Ian Hughes, also the developers Rivers Run Red, who have pioneered virtual worlds for brands and business use. Guest looks at the US military's virtual model to train its warriors to fight, and looks at virtual worlds in South Korea. Guest is worried about the 'dark side' of these worlds with their criminals, mafiosos, prostitutes, hackers and terrorists. This book seeks to address the question: are virtual worlds life enhancing or mere escapism. Guest in his virtual personality, 'Errol Mysterio', explores these worlds.

Film adaptation

In 2007, director

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...

worked with screenwriter

Peter Straughan Peter Straughan (born 1968) is a British playwright, screenwriter and author. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''Conclave'' (2024), and was previously nominated in the category for '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (2011). ...

to adapt ''Second Lives'' to the big screen. With interest from

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

and

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

, the adaptation was rumored to be about the books main protagonist, a zany

Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...

resident who drove founder Philip Rosedale bonkers.

Bibliography

* Tim Guest (2008) ''Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds'', Hutchinson

References

Virtual world communities Second Life 2008 non-fiction books Mass media about Internet culture {{internet-book-stub

Contents

Film adaptation

Bibliography

References