Probably not – but the fact that someone’s bold enough to release a novel in which the majority of the action takes place in Second Life (rather than some generic unnamed metaverse platform) speaks volumes about the confidence of people who use it. (Confidence in the concept at least – I’ve been considerably riled by the bug-ridden software in recent days. Meh.)

Talking of platform confidence, in-world builders fearful of losing their cutting-edge status are grappling to learn their chops with the new ‘sculpted prims’ … and given that a mere week after ‘sculpties’ went live in the standard client software, someone has managed to animate a pretty impressive horse simulacrum already, odds are good that there’s going to be some pretty awesome stuff floating around within a few months.

Others still are concerned about Linden Labs’ apparent acquiescence to external legal pressures, worried that the heretofore pseudo-libertarian cyber-paradise will gradually be eroded into a sanitized simulacrum of meatspace.

Of course, there’s always the option to up sticks and leave for pastures new – science fiction author and new media marketing CEO Jason Stoddard has been roaming the invite-only beta of China’s ‘Second Life killer’, HiPiHi, and it looks like it will have a lot to offer … especially if you speak Chinese.