Ten years ago, Phillip Rosedale was just one of many bright young Silicon Valley types with an idea. His was to create a sustainable, dynamic and commercially viable virtual world. On June 23, 2003, Second Life was launched and the online world has never been the same. Celebrating its sixth anniversary this month, Second Life has an estimated fifteen million registered accounts, with an average of 30,000 users online at any one time.

But it would be a mistake to dismiss Second Life as an online game. It lacks a stated objective or conventional game mechanics. Focusing as much on the creative as on the entrepreneurial, with residents engaging in the arts, education, and public service spheres, Second Life defies conventional expectations, including the unusual step of making its codes open to the public in 2007, promoting still greater innovation.

Nor is the average resident what one might expect. Far from the stereotypical teenager closeted in his room, according to Nick Yee, a research scientist at the Palo Alto Research Center who studies the social dynamics of immersive virtual reality, the reality is far more complex and profound.

Yee’s research breaks several myths about Second Life, in particular that it appeals solely to a youth subculture.  The typical resident is around 26 and only 25% of residents are teenagers. About 50% of residents work full-time, roughly 36% being married, and 22% have children.  Yee states that 80% of residents play with someone they know in real life, forging new relationships and reinforcing existing ones, making Second Life a very conventionally social environment.

Nine international embassies, numerous prestigious universities and such high profile companies as IBM have established themselves in second Life. Commerce, diplomacy, and education are on the cutting edge of a new social dynamic in this virtual world. Universities now teach courses in virtual world society and numerous charities such as the Spina Bifida Association and the American Cancer Society raise both awareness and substantial sums through activities in Second Life.

Public service groups have also arisen to serve the needs of the expanding, diverse community. One such group, the Justice League Unlimited, has been active in Second Life since 2006 and is one of numerous groups devoting countless hours to the Second Life 2009 Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. Dedicated to education and promoting peaceful coexistence between groups, the League’s members, who pattern their avatars after popular culture heroes, come from all walks of life, including teachers and programmers.

JLU co-founder Kalel Venkman commented on the future of Second Life. "We've come a long way since the coining of the term ‘virtual reality’ in 1989 to Second Life's sixth birthday.  It's an amazing accomplishment - Linden Lab was the first to make this work, so we're all pioneers -  we're all taking part in history in the making. "