Europe takes lead in Second Life users
By Adam Reuters
SECOND LIFE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Europeans make up the largest block of Second Life residents with more than 54 percent of active users in January ahead of North America’s 34.5 percent, according to new Linden Lab data.
U.S. residents made up only 31.2 percent of active Second Life users in the month. France has the second-highest number of users after the virtual world became a battleground for the country’s presidential election.
Although French residents had long been a part of Second Life, thousands more joined Second Life in January as demonstrators picketed the virtual offices of Jean Marie Le Pen’s far-right National Front party. Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal also established a Second Life presence.
The data also shows that the gender balance of Second Life has shifted slightly toward men over the past year. In January 58.9 percent of residents declared themselves as men when they registered, compared with 55.5 percent a year earlier.
The average Second Life user is 33, according to self-reported data, with 27.5 percent of active users 18-25, 38.8 percent 25-34, 21 percent 35-44, and 11.5 percent older than 45.
On the teen grid, where ages range from 13 to 17, the average age was 15.
In a related blog post, Linden Lab Chief Financial Officer John Zdanowski aka Zee Linden addressed the much-disputed Second Life usage numbers. He said that unique users — consolidating multiple accounts held by a single user, and eliminating people who have registered but never signed in — totalled 1,974,607 in January, equal to 63 percent of the “total residents” figure that is displayed on secondlife.com.
“Approximately 10 percent of unique users have logged in for 40 hours or more. Committed usage at this stage of Second Life’s growth requires a great deal of effort,” he said. “Clearly not everyone is going to find relevance, and be able to build on a technology at this early stage.”
Active residents by country
- United States 31.19%
- France 12.73%
- Germany 10.46%
- United Kingdom 8.09%
- Netherlands 6.55%
- Spain 3.83%
- Brazil 3.77%
- Canada 3.30%
- Belgium 2.63%
- Italy 1.93%
