It all started around a year ago when Debs Regent, Debs Butler in real life, plunged into the virtual world while working as an IT analyst.
With the help of a team that now consists of twenty people, she began recreating parts of the city looking at over 1.000 pictures taken in real life.
Today, you can find not only London icons like the Big Ben or Piccadilly, but also some streets in Knightsbridge, Mayfair and Chelsea. Developers are still working to replicate Kensington.
Fun and bewilderement
In this small part of Second Life (SL), “people can come, have fun and enjoy London even if they live in China”, says Debs Regent.
For her, London SL is all about “having the London experience, joining social groups, networking and meeting people with similar interests, backgrounds and locations”.
Lincoln Cryotank, a freelance in business publishing in real life, is not that convinced. As a newcomer - “newbie” – he claims that he hasn´t seen much in SL “apart from dancing and a bit of fighting”.
But the freedom of movements that users - or avatars - is already being questioned.
According to OTR Press, the American Government has launched an initiative known as Reynard Project to monitor the behavior in virtual environments like SL and detect potential terrorists.
Not a business...yet
Building the virtual city takes a lot of time and effort, and Debs Regent is “heavily committed” to the project, both financially and time-wise.
But for now, it doesn´t really pay off. “I wish it was a business one day. Today is all about getting people together”.
“We have rentals for shops and businesses, as well as residential to offset the cost”, she explains. “We are looking for sponsors to help this place take off and rock”.
Like in real life, money plays a central role in SL. Residents - registered users with a virtual appearance known as avatars – can buy all sorts of items including houses and even make business with the Linden Dollars (L$).
The exchange rate of this special currency has stayed in the 250 Linden Dollars to the US Dollar(£ 0,49), and the best part is that L$ can be converted again into real-life cash.
According to Debs Butler, “some of the businesses are making money, but for a lot of brands it´s just about research and development”.
When she tried to persuade major retailers in the UK to become sponsors, she found that they were “afraid” of SL.
“Luxury brands don´t see that their market is here yet”, Butler explains.” They think IT is a function, not a way to the market, and they´re waiting to someone else to take the first step”.
Although according to SL developers only 155 users spent the equivalent to $5.000 in SL in February, brands can have access to more than 12.7 million residents with different levels of spending, a population that grows each day.
