Going from linden to real dollars

Although many would say that Second Life is not a game, but rather a social phenomenon, I think it is a bit of both. You’re still creating a virtual avatar, roaming virtual environments, and doing virtual things, even though you’re not alone, but part of a social phenomenon with thousands of other people. So how can something virtual, something from a “game” like the Linden dollars used in Second Life, become real life dollars to spend? The game economy allows for this and the fact that you are playing against other people who are willing to spend a few bucks in this virtual environment answers your question. But to use Second Life economics, we need to understand it.

Second Life – Virtual Economy

The entire economy of Second Life is based on the in-game currency, called the Linden Dollar, or simply L$. About 270 Linden dollars make one US dollar, and you can easily transact Linden dollars to US dollars (or various other currencies) using Second Life’s currency exchanges.

With millions of Second Life residents buying and selling items, land, and property, it’s not hard to see how this economy comes to life. In fact, virtual economy analysts at the Metastat Bureau of Statistics estimated that Second Life will have a GDP of more than $550 million in 2007. $550 times 270 = lots of Linden dollars flowing freely in the Second Life economy.

Converting virtual money to real money in the world of Second Life is easy, and you have several options for doing so. First of all, you can go from Linden to real dollars using the Linden Lab forex brokerage, which is closely supervised by the creators of Second Life. Or you can try LindeX currency exchange, which many residents prefer to the old currency exchange offered by Linden Labs. Last but not least, if you want better management of your transactions, you can use a third-party currency exchange program , but keep in mind that you are using them at your own risk.

As you can see, it is not very difficult to convert from Linden to real dollars and you have several options at hand. However, changing the money isn’t the hard part, but doing it is! It’s not easy to make money as a beginner in Second Life, but if you work your way up and become “rich” in the virtual world, you can easily start collecting real dollars and earning a living. Many qualified residents have built successful businesses within Second Life that allow them to earn real money. As in real life, Second Life has its giants, with various real estate or local owners generating thousands of real dollars each month, since they can basically live off the profits made in the virtual world of Second Life.