It is a party in Second Life, 24 hours a day. Through the Internet, users who were strangers bond as they explore a 3-D world.
In Hawaii touring by helicopter, or like this reporter, trying to learn how to fly. In Second Life you can take a tumble without getting hurt.
Taking risks with emotions is much trickier. Ask the real person who guides one of the avatars.
"My name is Michael Rossi...my avatar is Letum Zuma."
And he fell hard after a year-long romance in Second Life. "I think it has changed my life because I experienced a different kind of love. I tried to love unconditionally," says Rossi.
Together they explored. They built an island paradise. Rossi and his girlfriend exchanged photos, but never met. She told him it was because of an age difference. She said she was too young ... but there was no way in this virtual world to know the truth.
Rossi: "You learn about break-ups. Everything in real life happens in Second Life."
Rossi is not alone. Though the world offers a fantasy life, with people manipulating fantasy bodies, it enables real intimacy.
In Detroit, Teasa Coprue got engaged for real. "You can be more you because, who cares? They can't see you so a lot of people can be more honest."
USC Professor Julie Albright says, "Most people don't lie ... that's the good news."
Dr. Julie Albright at USC has researched online relationships for 12 years. "The bad new is that in Second Life ... life is built on fantasy."
A fantasy that can burst after you find your digital soul mate is married, or ... "Gee they have an anger problem, I didn't see that online," says Albright.
Still Rossi says Second Life can help some couples in long-distance relationships like a soldier and a spouse who could meet in virtual Hawaii.
Rossi: "They can sit on the beach together, share closeness with one another."
Part of Rossi's vision is "Digiluv," a Second Life dating service. You meet a dud here, you can delete yourself or log off and return again to meet someone new or simply enjoy the scenery along the way.
Michael Rossi: "Someone described it as, 'It feels like heaven.' It's true."
