Germans launch Second Life newspaper

In the 19th Century people bought newspapers as a way of filling them in on the daily goings-on of the world. In the 20th Century the internet was created and people began to get their news through the tubes. Now, in the 21st Century, an ingenious German has decided to fuse the two previous methods together. Using the ever-growing game of Second Life as a platform, you will soon be able to subscribe to the first ever virtual tabloid.

The newspaper is being launched by Axel Springer (the German equivalent of News International), the publisher which creates German top-seller: Bild, and will include virtual news about the goings on within the game. With over 1 million subscribers and around $500,000 being spent daily in Second Life there is certainly potential for the virtual tabloid.

The newspaper will be launched in December, most probably via a subscription service and will cost between 10 and 15 Linden dollars, which on current exchange rates equates to little over a few pence. The quality of the paper should be pretty high too, with plans to construct an online editorial office in-world with a real editor-in-chief. Reporters will then be hired from within the Second Life community. Dirk Meyer-Bosse, a spokesman for the new venture described it as: "A colourful tabloid, with snippets about show business and human interest tales from the avatar world."

Should bit-tech buy an office in Second Life? Let us know in the forums.