THE L WORD - Fans of Showtime's signature franchise series and television drama The L Word have flocked to a virtual community created just for them in Second Life. A steady group of fans, nearly all women, have taken root there since the main L Word sim first launched in January.

“It's a comfort zone for me, and it adds a semi private location that I can go to hang out, party, and meet other gay and lesbian individuals,” Zoey Messmer says. “For that I am grateful. I love SL in general but having a place where I can be myself and talk about gay life is awesome.”

That sentiment is echoed by most people who frequent The L Word sims. “SL is in itself an incredible experience, but The L Word coming to it has really brought the entire idea to life,” Tiara Calvert says. “The thought that The L Word, which is such a great force for lesbian issues and such an incredible cultural phenomenon, is here for me to experience day in and day out brings me true joy.”

The connection between people seems to be the top feature for most regulars. “It's nice to have the ability to talk to people that can relate to things I face in real life,” Infinite Harvey says. “I personally cannot seem to find many 'butches' in my real life area to talk to, so I try to find them on SL in The L Word.”

Laura Leigh agrees that the relationships you form are the best part of it. “The L Word is the bulk of my experience in SL. I met all of my SL friends [on the main L Word sim], and it's my main social network within SL.”

Some who were frustrated with the lack of intimate conversation in SL have found a haven here. “I played SL for about 11 months and I was about to quit because I hadn't found a place where I felt a real connection with people,” Blenda Twang says. “But then I found The L Word and I loved it. Now it's a huge part of my life.”