Presenter: Maria Bäcke, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden

This study will examine whether residents in the 3D online world Second Life create their avatars and their online identity to correspond to the theme of the (role-playing group/s) in which they are a member.

I will primarily look at one Star Wars group, one Gorean group, and one Victorian Steampunk group. All these three groups are closely linked to social, and highly visual, spaces in Second Life. I will primarily search for cues in the individual avatar profiles—often consisting of both text and images created by the residents themselves and available in the SL search engine—to find out if their online identities are in line with (or stand in opposition) to the main narrative of the group.

Maria Bäcke is a PhD candidate in Digital Games at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, and she writes her dissertation on power structures and avant garde in 3D worlds. Additionally, she is a designer, builder, consultant and teacher in and about Second Life. She has been working in SL since 2005.