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Second Life bogged down by grey goo
Attack of the "self-replicators"...

By Gemma Simpson

Published: Monday 20 November 2006

Second Life had to close its cyber gates for a short time on Sunday after a 'grey goo' virus attacked the virtual world.

On Sunday the official Linden Lab blog warned that the attack of "self-replicators" was causing a heavy load on the database, slowing down in-world activity.

Second Life and big business

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

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

The attack deposited spinning gold rings around the Second Life landscape.

The virtual world was closed for 21 minutes to all except Linden staff, who were busy tidying up the aftermath of the grey goo.

Another recent development that has some Second Life residents complaining is the release of a tool called CopyBot, which can be used to replicate people's virtual assets.

CopyBot was originally meant to be used to find and fix vulnerabilities in the Second Life landscape but it has since been adapted and distributed to other users, some of whom have used it to make unauthorised duplicates. Linden said the use of such a tool in this way violates its terms of service.