San Francisco - Linden Labs, operator of the online virtual world Second Life, has instituted a ban on unregulated banking in the wake of the dissolution of an in-game bank which saw investors lose the equivalent of $750,000, Wired.com reported.

The virtual world has been getting a lot of coverage in the real world these days.  Second Life is becoming the new poster child for the rising popularity of avatars and virtual personalities that real people are taking on, and every day it seems there is a new development that causes those in marketing and media circles to issue another latest news bulletin, write a blog post, or move on the rise as del.icio.us tag candy.  As some have noted, Second Life and the concept of virtual worlds is not new.  This was an idea first explored in the dotcom days, but never really took off due perhaps to the limitations of PCs, and the lack of abilities for promotion.  Those barriers are gone as personal media allows word to travel farther and faster, and word has certainly spread about Second Life.