The legendary British band “Duran Duran” going to create a virtual island within online game Second Life, on which they will perform actual live concerts.

They will be the first major group to announce virtual world existence within a game. Second life is an online digital world, which is imagined, formed & own by its residents. This extraordinary 3D life is presented by Linden Lab.

Second Life website: http://secondlife.com/

Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by 553,700+ people from around the globe.

• From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.
• You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.
• The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world currency, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online currency exchanges.

More than 553,700+ people have Second Life characters, called Avatars, who exist in the world. Earlier this year, BBC Radio 1 rented a virtual island in Second Life where it held music festivals and BBC Two's Newsnight hosted an interview inside the game. In May, Radio 1 recreated the One Big Weekend event - which took place in Dundee in reality - inside the game so people could participate virtually. “Duran Duran” keyboardist Nick Rhodes told in an interview: "When I first discovered Second Life a few months ago, I was astounded by the possibilities that were there. "When I started looking at the figures running around, chatting and interacting, I thought this is somewhere between a bizarre virtual reality TV show, a surreal real-life experience and a video game. "Somehow the amalgamation was just irresistible - what became obvious was that “Duran Duran” should have a presence within there." Rhodes said he hoped the “Duran Duran” community would help develop the island into a "fully functional, futuristic utopia". He said the band was "thrilled to become citizens of Second Life". “Duran Duran” retains a large fan base more than 20 years after they became one of the biggest bands in the world, thanks to songs such as Wild Boys and Girls on Film. Three-dimensional versions of the band members - called Avatars - have been commissioned and will be revealed in September. The band hopes to perform their first virtual concert in the coming months. The digital continent of Second Life covered an area equivalent to 64 acres three years ago but now is more than 20,000 acres in size and growing rapidly.