Examining Real World Correlates in the Virtual World

Virtual worlds have become the new frontier of social science research because of the growing links and similarities to the real world. One virtual world in particular, Second Life, has become important because it has taxes, virtual land, and its currency, the Linden Dollar, is exchangeable for United States dollars. Because the Linden Dollar has a measurable real-world value, economic decisions within Second Life become important in the wider global economy and suitable to be tested under real-world economic theory. Using data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and Linden Labs, the study tested the ability of the United States unemployment rate to predict the demand for virtual land in Second Life. To isolate the effect of the United States unemployment rate, the study controlled for the demand for virtual currency and Second Life’s gross domestic product. The study found that an increase in the United States unemployment rate predicted an increase in demand for virtual land. This proves that Second Life has become integrated within the global economy. In addition it shows that real-world economic theory is applicable in Second Life. As a result, there is a greater potential for research within virtual worlds, and complex economic and social theories can be studied in a more practical way