Going From Linden To Real Dollars

Although many would argue that Second Life is not a game, but a social phenomenon, I believe it's a bit of both. You're still creating a virtual avatar, going around virtual environments and doing virtual stuff, although you're not alone, but rather part of a social phenomenon with thousand of other people. So how is it possible that something virtual, something from a "game", such as the Linden Dollars used in Second Life, be converted to real life dollars to spend? The game's economy allows this and the fact that you're playing up against other people that are willing to spend a few bucks in this virtual environment, answers your question. But in order to use the Second Life economy, we need to understand it.

Second Life - Virtual Economy
The entire Second Life economy is based on the game's currency, called the Linden Dollar, or simply L$. Around 270 Linden Dollars make one US dollar, and you can easily perform a transaction from Linden Dollars to US Dollars (or several other currencies) by using Second Life's currency exchanges.

With millions of Second Life residents buying and selling items, land and properties, it's not hard to understand how this economy comes to life. Actually, virtual economy analysts from the Metastat Statistics Bureau estimated that Second Life will have a GDP of over $550 million in 2007. $550 times 270 = Loads of Linden Dollars flowing freely in the Second Life economics.

Its easy to convert virtual money to real money in the world of Second Life and you have various options to do so. First, you could go from Linden to Real dollars by using the Linden Lab currency brokerage, which is closely monitored by the creators of Second Life. Or you could try out the LindeX Currency Exchange, which many residents prefer over the old currency exchange offered by Linden Labs. Last but not least, if you want better management of your transactions, you could use a third-party currency exchange program, but be advised that you're using them on your own risk.

As you can see, it's not very difficult to go from Linden to Real dollars and you have several options at hand. However, changing the money is not the hard part, but making them is! It's not easy to make money as a starter in Second Life, but if you work your way up and become "rich" in the virtual world, you can easily start cashing in on real dollars and actually make a living off it. Many skilled residents have built successful businesses inside Second Life that earn them real cash. As in real life, Second Life has its giants, with several real estate owners or venue owners generating thousands of real dollars each month, as they can basically live off their profit made in the virtual world of Second Life.

Fraser Wheaton

Posted in: Business,Virtual Economy