It's hard to ignore Secondlife.com, that amazing virtual world where retailers, marketers, artists and entrepreneurs are clamoring to sell their products and services to more than 400,000 active
participants. Like real life, Second Life is free after downloading the software, which provides users with tools for their online personas, or avatars. Recording artists, in particular, are taking
advantage of the site's loyal user base to host virtual concerts in virtual outdoor stadiums. Suzanne Vega is the latest real world artist to make the virtual crossover. Her youthful-looking avatar,
with short hair and bangs, appeared on stage and sang before 100 or so of her die-hard fans. In real life, Vega was sitting at a recording studio; in the virtual world she was playing in a packed
stadium. After the show was over, Vega was able to answer questions that were visible to all over an instant messaging platform. "The response was terrific!! I am still hearing from people who were in
the 'room,' friends of friends and people all over the world who were 'there,'" Vega said, adding that she took an active role in picking out the maroon blouse, black cardigan and white tennis shoes
her avatar wore. That last bit is where marketers should be concerned. Second Life's purchasing decisions in the virtual world are affected in a similar way to the real world. Fashion is
important--but more than that, the kind of person you choose as your avatar. An overweight middle-aged man could reinvent himself as a bubbly teenage girl. All of a sudden, it's relevant to him when a
major clothing maker like American Apparel announces that it's opening a virtual store in Second Life.
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