After exploring through for what seemed to be hours on the new [to me] "skeptical" virtual Second Life "game" where people can pretend they are living in an alternate world. I found that a number of people consider Second Life to be a game.
In Second Life people can live in a virtual world doing most of the same things people in real life do. They can get their news, find jobs, advertise, learn what is happening in the media, etc. However, it seems that many people are unaware of the capabilities of this technology and use this virtual world simply as a game.
When asking advertar Kari Balczo at Phat Cat's Jazzy Blue Lounge [in-world] whether she considered it a game she responded yes. She said, “I like to explore, build, and meet people from all over.” I also asked her if she got her news from the world or if she knew that several presidential candidates held debates for their campaigns in this virtual world. She told me no and at this point chose to end our interview by flying away.
One other advertar that I came into contact with in Second Life was named Mercedes Mopp that could make this world seem quite frightening. Her advertar was an attractive looking image of a woman and she was 13 years old! She said that she thought of Second Life as a game and that her favorite thing to do in-world is to “just fly around.” She was unaware of any news that could be found in the world and after our interview followed me around asking if she could be my friend and fly around with me.