Two years ago, writer Barry Collins spent a fair amount of time exploring Second Life and chronicling what he found for British site PC Pro. He returns now to discover it all but abandoned. The early parts of the article about his return visit are reminiscent of the beginning of 28 Days Later. Or any visit to the newbie areas of an established MMO.

But it turns out that Second Life isn't abandoned. It's just re-organized.

A little research soon reveals why Second Life seems a lot quieter than the numbers suggest. In June, the company opened Zindra - Second Life's "adult continent", a huge plot of the virtual universe dedicated to content rated as "mature", "adult" or even "PG".

Given that sex and gambling accounted for the majority of the "most popular places" when I first visited, it was suddenly apparent why I was as lonely as a cloud in the parts of the Second Life universe that wouldn't upset the clergy.

Read about Collins' latest lurid experiences in Second Life here. It's also worth perusing the comments section for a few counterpoints. Although Second Life is widely regarded as an overblown boondoggle, it does have its reasonable defenders. And the last page of Collins' article is almost enough to make me want to take a look for myself. Almost.

Also, I have to admire the response Collins quotes from one of the game's official greeters when asked "What's the point of Second Life?"

I've had a real life for 28 years and I haven't worked out what the point of that is yet. Second Life's only been going six years. Give it a chance.