Second Life turns three years old

Though a pile of recent mainstream media coverage and a Jeff Bezos round of investment may have turned many readers on to the virtual world of Second Life only recently, it (like many parts of the Web 2.0 world) is not entirely new. The virtual world is celebrating it’s third birthday starting today. According to the Second Life history wiki, the world’s creators Linden Lab took the project public on June 23rd, 2003.

At an exchange rate of roughly 250 Linden Dollars to the US Dollar, the Second Life economy offers as as many goods for sale as four Walmart stores. Linden Lab reports that the Second Life economy is on a pace to hit $60 million in user-to-user transactions this year and is growing at a rate of 15%. From the American Cancer Society to Wells Fargo Bank, a wide variety of organizations have opened virtual offices in Second Life.

Even TechCrunch is a part of the action. If you can’t make it in person to tomorrow night’s SuperNova Connected Innovators event, cohosted by TechCrunch and Yahoo!, you can join us at a Second Life simulcast from 6:00PM – 8:00PM PST.

Thanks to Wagner James Au for his excellent Second Life news coverage.