just chanced upon this 4-mths old article by Owen Thomas, it appears that Second Life is ending it’s ‘original life’ in the business world:
We were primarily interested in Second Life as a business/commerce/finance phenomenon, covering it like we would any small but fast-growing economy in the real world. The bureau is now closed. Essentially the story we were there to cover has moved on. — Adam Pasick, as cited by Thomas
in short, SL didnt make MONEY as originally planned. so it’s getting a second life by “pitching itself as an online schoolhouse.”
good news for those of us in teaching isn’t it? (: