San Francisco - Linden Lab, developer of the "Second Life" virtual world, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired two Web-based marketplaces for virtual goods, Xstreet SL and OnRez.

New York - Linden Lab, creators of the "Second Life" virtual world, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced on Tuesday a successful test of virtual world interoperability, during which avatars were "teleported" between the Second Life Preview Grid and an OpenSim virtual world server. An open standard for interoperability would allow users to cross freely from one world to another in a seamless transfer, just as they can go from one website to another on the Internet today, the companies said.

Redwood City, Calif. - Vollee, a service that offers PC applications on mobile devices by streaming them over 3G networks, on Tuesday announced the beta release of its mobile application for Linden Lab's "Second Life" virtual world. The application allows anyone with a qualified 3G or Wi-Fi handset to login to the virtual world using their existing Second Life accounts.

San Francisco - Linden Lab, the developer of 3D virtual world Second Life, has named Mark Kingdon as its new CEO, replacing company founder Philip Rosedale, who will remain chairman. Since 2001, Kingdon has served as the CEO of Organic Inc., a digital communications agency. Prior to that, he had been a partner with the consulting division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Our search for the leader of Linden Lab demanded both tremendous business skills and a deep understanding and passion for Second Life and where it is going," said Rosedale. Kingdon will officially assume the role on May 15.

New York - IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Linden Lab, creator of the "Second Life" online virtual world, announced on Thursday that they will collaborate on the development of "enterprise solutions for security-rich, custom virtual world creation and collaboration" on the Second Life Grid platform. The platform allows organizations to create a public or private virtual environment using Linden Lab's 3D online virtual world technology.

San Francisco - Linden Lab, maker of the online virtual world Second Life, is looking for someone to fill founder and chief executive Philip Rosedale’s shoes as he will step down, according to Reuters.

San Francisco - Vollee, the developer of an application that can stream console-quality video games to 3G mobile phones, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Linden Lab to offer a mobile version of its Second Life 3D virtual world. Beta trials for the Second Life Grid platform are now open for pre-registration, and are expected to commence in May. Vollee's other publisher partners include Activision and Codemasters.

San Francisco - Linden Lab, which operates the "Second Life" virtual world, has implemented a new, voluntary identity verification system on the service. "With the option to verify aspects of their real life identity, such as age and name, Second Life Residents can begin to build trust and safety systems inside the virtual world and their virtual community." Robin Harper, vice president of marketing and community development for Second Life, told Wired.com. In addition to establishing trust between users, the company said the age verification can help virtual land owners and content publishers to screen minors from inappropriate material.

San Francisco - Linden Lab's online virtual world "Second Life" announced that it has banned its residents from participating in any forms of online gambling, several months after saying it would no longer accept any classified ads or event listings related to "simulated casino" activity.

San Francisco - Linden Lab plans to offer inhabitants of its "Second Life" virtual world the ability to purchase customized first and last names for their avatars, charging a $100 fee for set up and $50 annually thereafter, the Associated Press reported. Users currently can choose any first name but are limited to a selection of fictitious surnames; a select group of high-profile members, such as presidential hopeful John Edwards, have been allowed to use their actual last names. "Second Life" spokesman Alex Yenni told AP the company plans to begin offering the feature by the end of the year.

New York - The FBI has visited casinos within the virtual world "Second Life," but authorities have not yet clarified whether the online gambling for virtual currency runs afoul of the U.S. ban on Internet gambling, Reuters reported.

Framingham, Mass. - Vivox, a developer of integrated voice services for virtual worlds and online games, announced on Tuesday that it will provide Linden Lab with integrated voice communication for its Second Life virtual world.