Virtual Worlds Forum

Anonymous participants of second life are being investigated by German prosecutors for virtual child sex and distributing child pornography. Since it's not really possible to verify a player's age, adult players are able to dress up as children and offer sex for Linden Dollars, which can be converted back into real dollars of course. ‘Age Play’ is common in Second Life but it clearly has a dark edge to it. In Germany, virtual child pornography is punishable by up to five years in prison. In the US it is not classified as a crime. As the Guardian reports:

Nick Schader, a reporter with the investigative television programme, Report Mainz and a member of Second Life, said he had been "shocked to see" the virtual child pornography meetings to which he was invited for 500 Linden dollars - around £1.50. He said the same group of people subsequently put him in touch with traders in real child pornography. Robin Harper, the deputy president of the San Francisco firm Linden Lab which runs Second Life, said: "We will find out who is behind this, and then inform the police."