Get a 'First Life'

Well, it was bound to happen.

After a year of intensive media interest--some would say hype--including many stories on CNET News.com, about Second Life, someone has come up with what, it must be said, is a gorgeous spoof of that virtual world.

Many critics of Second Life like to say that the problem with it and other online games and virtual worlds is that it sucks people in and keeps them away from their real lives.

Voila! Get A First Life, the spoof from Darren Barefoot, which takes the Second Life home page and does a brilliant job of parodying it.

For example, where SecondLife.com lists "total residents," currently at 2,828,560, GetAFirstLife.com lists "total residents" as more than 6.5 billion.

Where SecondLife.com, in a big orange box, shouts "Join Now, membership is free," GetAFirstLife.com yells, also in a big orange box, "Go outside, membership is free."

It also makes fun of the well-known sex community in Second Life, in which people are able to purchase digital genitalia and simulate sex using custom animations, by touting, "fornicate using your actual genitals."

And where SecondLife.com advertises itself by saying, "Your world. Your imagination," GetAFirstLife.com makes us remember that maybe the real world does come with a little unfortunate baggage. "Your world. Sorry about that," it says.

Anyway, this had to happen. But rather than get sued, Barefoot said he got a note from Second Life publisher Linden Lab telling him they were just fine with his joke. After all, anyone can tell with one glance that it is parody.