More And More Architects Buying Land In Second Life

"Unlike the real world, there's no gravity, weather, site preparation, sloppy workmanship, or planning committees to worry about. It should be an architect's paradise."

"Because the land has been sold piece by piece, SL's terrain is mostly a haphazard patchwork of individual plots, with little relationship to each other. You could rearrange the whole place overnight with few consequences. Flying around, you'll find medieval castles, half-timbered Tudor cottages, Las Vegas-type hotels, and flimsy approximations of footballers' wives-style luxury living, most completely deserted."

"The only major areas of architectural coherence are those that are designed by property developers, such as Ailin Graef, known as Anshe Chung in SL and the site's first dollar millionaire (real dollars, that is). Her burgeoning empire Dreamland, operated from a 20-person office in China, has turned swaths of SL land into the equivalent of themed, gated communities. There's a Mediterranean one, with classical temples for sale or rent; and an Asian world with fishponds, pagodas and a Japanese and Korean-speaking population. You can buy a house in a pirate world, or even a virtual apartment in New York's World Trade Center, standing proud and tall."