"Preferences and community standards vary tremendously across industries, countries and cultures," said Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden. "Our goal is to retain as much of the freedom as possible while continuing to push the medium and our platform forward. As we continue to grow, it is crucial that we maintain the diversity of user-generated content while providing enhanced controls to support a wider range of uses."

The Red-Light Continent

The new plan has two components: Virtual segregation of mature and adult content into a brand-new continent within Second Life, and an age-verification system to limit who can view the content.

Linden said the time line and procedures for migrating existing adult businesses to the new continent is being finalized and should be released by the end of the second quarter. Businesses that are required to move will be able to leave a sign temporarily indicating their new location.

In addition, the company will institute procedures requiring users to obtain account verification before accessing adult content. Verification can be accomplished in one of two ways: By having payment information on file, or by signing up for Linden's age-verification service operated by Aristotle, which uses government-issued IDs to verify ages.

A Business-Oriented Cleanup

The move to ship adult content "overseas" is reminiscent of the real-world efforts of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to clean up Times Square and make it more family-friendly. For Linden Lab, however, the motivation is less about tourism than it is about being more business-friendly.

The company's press release makes it clear why blue activities are being banished: "With a growing in-world economy and a broad user base that includes consumers, educators and large enterprises," the company said, "Linden Lab continues to lead an industry widely recognized as the future of communication."

By creating a strictly monitored PG space within Second Life, Linden will have an easier time pitching itself as a virtual conference space for companies and organizations eager to trim real-world travel costs. At the same time, however, the creation of an adults-only continent gives Linden the curious honor of being one of the first major online services to specifically embrace the hosting of adult content.

Linden will enforce its new content-rating system with a combination of automated and human supervision. Search results containing adult terms will only be available to registered users, although the company promises it will distinguish between legitimately adult terms and terms of more general interest, such as "breast cancer."