Second life divorce case: What it means for journalists

The case of Amy Taylor, who is divorcing her husband after finding him commiting adultery in the online game Second Life, sounds bizarre to many people. But even more bizarre is the story of how reporters uncovered it.

The Guardian reports that journalists from South West News, unable to communicate with the couple in real life, tracked down their online characters in the game and interviewed them in cyberspace.


One of the journalists working on the case said: "In real life [Taylor] had rejected everything - knocks on the door, letters, phone calls. But our characters started chatting and it was different. She began to trust us. Amy's character was much more confident in the game than she was in real life." South West News are now looking at opening an online bureau in Second Life.


The more the internet becomes central to our lives, the more we will see stories such as this crop up. Anthony Mayfield gave us a statistic which hinted at what may be to come: the longer someone has had broadband internet at home, the more likely they are to be highly engaged with the online world. When you consider that many households in the UK have only had broadband internet for two years or less, the more likely it is our relationships, achievements, traumas and tragedies will be played out online rather than off.


Us journalists will need new ways of scooping stories from the virtual world. So in light of the Taylor case, I decided to do what journos all over the country are probably scrambling to do and set myself up a Second Life account.....