easy to share , replicate and tweak creations , Second Life is a world of abundance for creators . That makes it an effective testing platform for trying out concepts quickly and cheaply . David E. Stone , an MIT research fellow , reports creating simulations in three days -- for $ 350 -- that others proposed building in six months for $ 60,000 . That 's caught the attention of the corporate world . Many companies see potential savings , for instance , in moving parts of their new-employee training programs to a virtual world . Stone has been hired by a range of companies -- from a pest extermination firm to a power plant operator -- to create prototypes of such systems in Second Life . Security concerns Testing a concept in Second Life does n't have to mean hosting the final product there . Security might be a concern , for instance . `` By definition , social networking is open , '' notes Paul Terlemezian , president of iFive Alliances , a corporate-training consultancy in Atlanta . `` That 's kind of contrary to corporate training , which is closed and proprietary . '' A company
Second Life allows people to lead two lives -- one in the real world and another in the virtual . But in a way , Second Life itself leads two lives . In just fours years of existence , Second Life has moved far beyond people simulating other lives on the Internet . In its first , well-publicized life , it 's a forum for residents to socialize , shop and even have sex via on-screen avatars . In its second life , it 's a flexible platform for running inexpensive simulations and experiments . The latter might prove to be the most important . `` Second Life 's real potential may be that of an experimentation platform , '' says Eric Klopfer , a professor at MIT . He notes the ability within Second Life to rapidly construct objects and experiences `` without having to build the world from scratch . '' Indeed , it 's relatively easy for residents to build objects that others can use , sit on , walk through , pick up and so on . That can mean anything from a hammer to a house to a landscape . And since it 's also