Second Life is about personal expression and your avatar is the most personal expression of all. After all, an avatar is your persona in the virtual world. The picture below shows how easy it is to create your avatar. Despite offering almost infinite possibilities, the tool to personalize your avatar is very simple to use and allows you to change anything you like, from the tip of your nose to the tint of your skin. Don't worry if it's not perfect at first, you can change your look at any time.

When a place is as big as Second Life and has so many things to do, the first question people ask is, "Where do I start?".

1. The Map. Imagine you want to find people socializing. View upcoming events' information on the web map by clicking the the green dots being shown.
   
   
2. The Search Menu. Now you'd like to learn more about a particular event you saw on the web map. Search for it, and read its description. It sounds great, and you teleport there.
   
   
3. Other People. Once you arrive, right-click on anybody's avatar and choose "View Profile" to learn about them.
   

Within your first hour, you'll notice that several residents approach you and introduce themselves – Second Lifers are eager to welcome you and show you around.

Within this vibrant society of people, it's easy to find people with similar interests to you. Once you meet people you like, you find it's easy to communicate and stay in touch.

At any time there are dozens of events where you can party at nightclubs, attend fashion shows and art openings or just play games.

Residents also form groups ranging from neighborhood associations to fans of Sci Fi Movies.

Owning land in Second Life allows you to build, display, and store your virtual creations, as well as host events and businesses.

Become a part of history by purchasing land and developing your own piece of Second Life. The Pricing and Fees are simple; you pay $9.95 a month plus a Land Use Fee proportional to the amount of land you own.

Whether it's a modest nook for a relaxing cottage, or an entire island to build your dream amusement park, land is for everyone.

In Second Life, there's something new around every corner.

The world is filled with hundreds of games, from multi-player RPG's to puzzles and grid-wide contests. There are also dance clubs, shopping malls, space stations, vampire castles and movie theatres.

To find something to do at any time of the day or night, simply open the Search menu and click on Events. You'll see a listing of Discussions, Sports, Commercial, Entertainment, Games, Pagaents, Education, Arts and Culture and Charity/Support Groups.

Regardless of your mood, there's always something to do...

In Second Life you can create anything you can imagine with powerful, highly flexible building tools, using geometric primitives and a simple, intuitive interface. Build live, in real-time, right in Second Life - no separate tools or applications to buy or learn and no hassles with importing your work. Building is easy to learn, yet robust enough to inspire your creativity.

A powerful but fun-to-learn and use scripting language further enhances your creations by allowing you to add behaviors to the objects you build - sculpt a butterfly, then write a short chunk of code that lets it follow you around as you walk.

And once you've built something, you can easily begin selling it to other residents, because you control the IP Rights of your creations.

What if you want something but don't quite have the time or skills to make it? Just do a quick search to find and buy what you want.

Amazing things are created everyday in Second Life, but the depth and power and capabilities of SL mean that we have just scratched the surface - join and become one of the explorers!

Make real money in a virtual world. That's right, real money.

• Second Life has a fully-integrated economy architected to reward risk, innovation, and craftsmanship.
  
  
• Residents create their own virtual goods and services. Because residents retain the IP rights of their creations, they are able to sell them at various in-world venues.
  
  
• Businesses succeed by the ingenuity, artistic ability, entrepreneurial acumen, and good reputation of their owners.
  
  
• Residents who have amassed lots of Linden Dollars are matched with residents who want to buy Linden Dollars at LindeX (our official Linden Dollar exchange), or at other unaffiliated third-party exchanges.
  
  
• Second Life's real estate market provides opportunities for Residents to establish their own communities and business locations. See Land Pricing & Use Fees for details.