They will not stop at “age”. You will be “voluntarily” asked to provide more and more of your RL data on your profile, including, but not limited to, age, skin colour, gender, ethnic group, address, phone number, and yearly income.

Augmentationists will cheer to the policy changes, since it will make Second Life become a sort of 3D version of LinkedIn. More and more people will put their curriculum vitae on their profiles, and provide a PGP key or similar digital signature/certificate. Providing verified credentials will be the norm in SL, although, of course, several regions in SL will still remain anonymous.

Pay close attention to what Philip is going to say during the Second Life Community Convention 2007 in Chicago, August 24-26. He will be revealing something extraordinary first-hand that will change the whole way we think about Second Life.

Hint: it’s not the end of sex in Second Life. And it’s not SL 2.0 either.

… rather, Nicholas Portocarrero is discussing with real world banks how to best come into Second Life. Expect a few more to start opening virtual offices in Second Life, but not as a “media splash campaign” but rather as a way to attract more customers by providing L$-based services in Second Life.

Linden Lab is tired. They will let IBM run the mainland “very soon”. IBM will be the major supplier of sims for “community” and “business”; Linden Lab will focus on software and interoperability, as well as fixing and maintaining the “Open Second Life Protocol” through a “Metaverse Foundation”.