Elizabeth McCardell

Second Life is not a game, but a virtual environment platform where you can be anything you like/create anything you like. You can participate in art exhibitions, lectures (some real life universities have a SL presence), tutorials, music shows, therapies ... just plain old conversation with friends. Current research in the fields of neurophysiology and psychology are finding very interesting things: some forms of paraplegia are actually helped by being able to move in SL (the brain can't distinguish between the virtual and real life in some instances). Phobias are also able to be explored - safely. Virtual environments in the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson's Disease are turning up some very interesting results. I began investigating these applications during my doctoral research, and continue to do so. I'm currently exploring its application in psychotherapy. I've used SL for a long time now and it endlessly delights me. My particular passion is the making of virtual gardens, land and water based. A couple of friends create art works and exhibit - and sell their pieces - in SL. They have an international reputation because of their SL presence in the art scene and from that, have been published in actual real life books. SL is not a separate reality; it's part of ordinary life for many of us. In SL you can fly, swim, walk sexy or with a swagger, move in a hundred different ways. You can change your avatar, dress however you like, take on the appearance of a cat, a snake, a dragon, a man/woman, do/be whatever you wish. You can own land, buy a house, make your own dwelling, fill it with flowers, talk with people from anywhere in the world, you can sell virtual real estate, do other forms of business ... your virtual world is your oyster.