Second Life Boosted with $8 Million in New Financing; Linden Lab and Benchmark Capital Aim for...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Linden Lab(R), creator of the acclaimed 3D digital world, Second Life(R), announced today it has closed a financing round of $8,000,000 led by Benchmark Capital and with participation from Omidyar Network, a new organization lead by eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar. Existing investors

"Second Life has a vibrant community where content creators and consumers reinforce one another," says Pierre Omidyar. "Better experiences attract more users, which further attracts entrepreneurial developers to enrich the experience. Opportunities abound and value is determined by the community."

"We have been blown away by the momentum inside of Second Life," said Benchmark Capital partner J. William Gurley. "While most multi-player gaming companies are inherently limited by the size of their development team, Second Life is limited only by the imagination of its users. This is clearly the most leveraged digital entertainment environment we have ever encountered." Gurley, who recently spoke about multi-player online gaming at the Web 2.0 conference, will be joining Linden Lab's board of directors.

"Within Second Life, thousands of people are creating what is in every sense of the word a new world. The demand for resources, servers, tools and features created by this rapid growth and heavy usage can be met with this new investment," said Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab. "I look forward to walking the digital streets of a place that has until now existed only in science fiction and dreams."

Mr. Gurley joins Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development and founder of Kapor Enterprises and Jed Smith, managing partner of Catamount Ventures on the Linden Lab Board of Directors.

The Second Life Opportunity

Second Life is a 3D online digital world in which you can create, experience and become almost anything you can imagine. Residents are building everything from skyscrapers and medieval castles to games to vehicles of all kinds to clothing lines to nightclubs, in a richly immersive 3D landscape that is growing daily. Designers, entrepreneurs and developers will discover an amazing environment with real business opportunities -- each month Second Life users currently buy and sell goods and services valued at over US$1 Million.