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.

Los Angeles - Universal Studios and director Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Ring") have acquired the rights to a 2007 Wall Street Journal article about the online virtual world "Second Life," Variety reports. The article centered on the detrimental effect that hours spent in the virtual world had on the real life of a 53-year-old man and his family. Verbinski is also slated to direct a film version of the game "Bioshock" for Universal.

San Francisco - Reality Entertainment, an independent record label whose artists include KC and the Sunshine Band, Marcy Playground and Krokus, has signed what it says is the first record deal given to a performer in the virtual world "Second Life," Wired.com reported. Blues artist Von Johin plays and records music outside of the virtual world, but it was his weekly performances in Second Life that attracted the attention of Reality. "Von, as an avatar, will play all his shows in Second Life, and they'll continue to be free," a Reality publicist told Wired. "As for touring, Von is already playing a fully booked schedule, but Reality is planning a big in-world event in addition to that."

Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) has introduced a new free virtual world application, "Lively," which -- much like similar services such as "Second Life" -- allows users to create and accessorize avatars and buildings within the virtual environment.

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.

London - Major record label EMI Music announced on Monday that it has appointed Cory Ondrejka, co-founder of "Second Life" creators Linden Lab, to the new position of senior vice president of digital strategy. "Cory shares my passion for driving technology and innovation in the digital music business," said Douglas Merrill, president of EMI's digital business. "His unique experience building online environments, like Second Life, will be invaluable to EMI Music, as we create new digital communities for fans and artists."

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.

Washington - An information hearing on virtual worlds before a U.S. House subcommittee was attended by both "Second Life" founder Philip Rosedale and a number of avatars who appeared on a video screen in the hearing room, Reuters reported. "It is likely that virtual world activities are somewhat more policeable and the law somewhat more maintainable within virtual worlds," Rosedale said, asserting that government intervention is not needed. "The virtual world has a degree of accountability...and traceability, which actually in many ways is better than the real world."

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 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.