Now Selling: Real Estate on the Digital Frontier

Second Life Residents Join To Create Island Environments

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 30, 2004 - Linden Lab, creators of Second Life, the acclaimed 3D online world, announced today the sale of private virtual islands to Second Life Residents. This availability of island property expands on the current offering of land at online auctions, and supports the surge in diversification and community development that has accompanied the boom in content creation and population growth.

Along with many ideas for island communities, some Residents are banding together to create specially themed environments. One group hopes to recreate the visual style and community of Uru Live™, a recently cancelled massively multiplayer online game. "In Second Life you can create any effect you want", said Oboe Blanc, one of the group's leaders. "Using visual effects reminiscent of those we experienced in Uru, we plan to develop a central location in Second Life for a community of people who enjoy Uru and the whole Myst world." Blanc expects dozens of people to work with him on the project.

"The rapid growth, creativity, and entrepreneurship of the Second Life community are creating tremendous pressure for new land," said Philip Rosedale, Linden Lab founder and CEO. "With Residents creating ever-more ambitious projects, from shopping centers, railways and marinas to large scale airports, we expect the value of land will continue to grow. Projects have grown from houses and stores to cities and parks - islands are a way to make those larger projects even more compelling."

Island purchasers will be able to expand their land area as their community and needs grow. Owners will retain full control of their 16 acre islands, from altering the terrain to determining who's allowed to visit, taking the idea of "Your World, Your Imagination," to its fullest realization.

Resale of land among Residents has also increased with thousands of transactions taking place weekly, rapidly creating vigorous secondary markets for Second Life real estate. Some Second Lifers have even taken on the role of real estate agents, architects, and developers to handle the dramatic rise of in-world land transactions.

Since January 2004, land sales have grown steadily with more than 800 parcels sold at auction to date. Residents have spent as much as USD$550 for an acre of Second Life land, which can also be purchased for Linden dollars, the in-world currency. The entire land mass has grown 5 percent weekly, as Linden Lab has added new servers to its expanding grid computing array.

About Linden Lab
Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D entertainment. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. Noted software pioneer Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, serves as Chairman.

Recently named one of 2003's Best by PC Magazine, Second Life is a digital world like no other. Residents retain their intellectual property rights in their creations, are able to own and control the land where they live and congregate, are starting businesses that are paying off in real world income, and have the freedom to shape the future of their digital reality.

Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior development team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and RealNetworks.

Note to editors: Second Life™ and Linden Lab™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. Uru and Myst are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cyan Worlds, Inc.