Second Life, the 3D social networking virtual world where users are able to create alter-egos of themselves, living out their days running virtual brothels, hunting ranges and multi-level marketing schemes, has passed the 1 million subscriber mark. Though, this also counts free accounts, which take a whopping 15 seconds to open, over 400,000 accounts have logged in within the last 60 days, a good sign that many accounts are active. How Second Life will fare next year remains to be seen, but for now, it seems like the Linden-family are going strong.

Second Life reaches 1 million subscriber mark

See where was all this mess when I was in school? In Jupiter, Florida (trust me, someplace where all kids have to do IS play video games) 18 year old Tom Taylor dropped out of high school in order to play games professionally for the Major League Gaming association, a collection of about 100 professional gamers who are making big bucks with lucrative sponsorship, consulting and merchandising contracts. Tom for instance, just recently hired a publicist and financial advisor, shortly after signing a contract worth $250,000. Tom compares his gaming skills to that of Michael Jackson, stating he was born to play video games. Way to go Tom.

Read more: Dropout making big bucks playing video games

The Second Life News Network, currently under construction, is aiming to become a major player in the Second Life media industry, by providing fans of the massive real-life simulation game with “breaking news reports and timely, unbiased information related to events in Second Life”. As the Second Life population grows, the one source for Second Life general news reporting, Metaverse Messenger is finding that competition is beginning to make their once comfortable monopoly disappear. How popular SLNN will be among the residents of Second Life remains to be seen, but, we’re always up for someone bucking the system and breaking down monopolistic barriers, wherever they may be.

Read more: Second Life News Network (Via: Second Life Insider)