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Off The Screen: 'Second Life' Players Meet

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By KEITH MORELLI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2008

TAMPA - Distinct personalities in real and imagined worlds collided Friday at the fourth annual "Second Life" convention.

That was only the beginning of the confusion for those outside Second Life, the virtual online community that is anything but confusing to those immersed in the virtual world.

The phenomenon has "linked people of like minds" all over the world, said Scott Merrick, a volunteer helping stream video of the convention into the virtual world for the avatars who can't physically come to downtown Tampa.

Merrick, whose alter-avatar-ego is Scottmerrick Oh - a moniker most at the convention recognized him as - said he has been "living" in Second Life since 2005.

"I had been messing with virtual worlds before that some," he said.

A teacher from Nashville, Merrick, 58, said it's a bit strange meeting his computer acquaintances in person.

"It's a little like meeting a cousin or something," he said.

Recognizing them by sight is not easy; people who create their images often look the way they want, not as they are.

He said the attraction of the virtual world is catching on.

"It's a chance to be with people of a like mind who are not located geographically near each other," he said.

He admitted that people not involved in Second Life, especially in Tennessee, look at him a bit strangely.

"They think I'm a nut," he said, "that I am out there."

A woman walked up and extended her hand.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Fleep."

Fleep Tugue is Chris Collins, and she instructs University of Cincinnati professors in computer technology. "Second Life" is her second life, and she's an organizer of the convention.

"We have 800 registrations today," she said. People have come from all over the world.

"People feel that this platform is the future of the Internet," she said. The key is the visuals.

"In instant messaging, you have no sense of who you are talking to," she said. "In Second Life, you feel like you are meeting that person. It's a lot more photo-realistic."

Second Lifers will attend social mixers and educational seminars designed to teach those caught up in the computer craze how to better navigate the boxy Second Life virtual 3-D landscape.

The online community's annual convention began Friday at the Tampa Marriott Waterside hotel with a welcome ceremony. Hundreds listened to speakers inside an expansive ballroom.

In front of most attendees at their tables were laptops opened to the world of Second Life. Some went about their second lives; others blogged the event.

The real-world gathering is an opportunity for those caught up in the virtual universe to meet the people behind the avatars.

According to the Second Life Web site, the virtual 3-D world is created by those who participate.

"Since opening to the public in 2003," the Web site said, "it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of residents from around the globe."

The Web site says thousands of new people join each day, free to explore the world and meet others who have created computer personalities They conduct business, socialize and interact on many levels.

Previous convention venues were New York, San Francisco and Chicago.

Just in from Baltimore was beladona memorial. She was operating the system through which virtual residents could attend the conference from far-flung places. She was frantically looking for an electric outlet in the main ballroom in front of the stage.

Her real name is Carol Tucker, she's 58, and she's an avid Second Lifer. Her virtual personality is nothing like her real one.

"Carol is a little more of a stick-in-the-mud," she said, "being that she is in financial services."

"Beladona memorial is part human, part dragon and part small pig," she said. "She's a mentor for newcomers, and she loves live music and she shops. She shops a lot."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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