Second Life Basic Accounts are Free!

Beginning in the next 48 hours, Second Life will begin to offer one free Basic Account to new Residents. Prior to this change, Basic accounts could only be created with a one-time fee of $9.95. Under the new pricing plan, Premium Memberships and virtual land ownership costs will remain unchanged. This change in account charges presents a significant benefit to the Second Life community and economy.

Earlier this summer, Linden Lab ran a test to determine how the addition of free accounts would impact the Second Life community. The test showed that the new trials accelerated growth within Second Life in a healthy way by growing economic activity and increasing the innovation and diversity in-world while not causing any additional negative results (no increase in griefing by the free accounts).

Free access also benefits everyone in the community by allowing even more people access to Second Life; which results in more experimentation and more opportunities for all Residents. Also, faster growth gives Linden Lab a stronger competitive position and a more robust overall system.

Offer Details:

1. Only the first Basic account is free; any additional Basic accounts (or alternate accounts) will be charged at the current price of $9.95 per account
   
2. The fee for Premium accounts will not change
   
3. Offer is not available to currently active Residents
   
4. Account creation will still require a valid credit card or Paypal account
   
5. The referral program and referral bonus remain the same
   
6. All accounts receive L $250 signup bonus upon creation; Premium accounts will receive L$1000 upon activation.
   

The free account change began on Wednesday, Septmeber 7, read more about it in the Press Release.