Second Life added to business 'banned' list

Virtual world Second Life is the latest application to be targeted by systems administrators trying to stamp out non-business use of company bandwidth.

Security company Sophos said it has received requests from several big companies to have the ability to block corporate network access to Second Life, a virtual world which claims to have 4.8 million 'residents' across the world.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "People get addicted to these online games.

"We're not saying that the game is bad but there's a time and a place for it."

As well as distracting staff and wasting company time, use of Second Life puts an unnecessary demand on company bandwidth, Sophos said.

Second Life - the corporate invasion

Click on the links below to see pictures of some of the many real-world businesses that have set up outposts in Second Life.

Adidas
Nissan
Sun Microsystems
Reebok
Penguin
American Apparel
Reuters
CNET Networks
PA Consulting
Yankee Stadium
Bartle Bogle Hegarty

And the security company's research found 41 per cent of PC users have the same password for all of their computer applications - including games.

More than 90 per cent of administrators polled by Sophos would like to block network access to unauthorised games at work, with 62 per cent saying it was essential to do so.

Second Life is one of a number of apps Sophos will allow network administrators to block through its antivirus software. Others include Everquest and Lineage.

And with these programs likely to become even more popular, this issue could become increasingly important. Screen Digest, predicts revenue from virtual worlds will hit $1.5bn by 2011.

Second Life declined to comment for this story.