Second Life, one of the more widely known metaverses, has eliminated the initial subscription fee for entering their virtual world, in an effort to broaden the appeal of the community and spur membership.

For those not familiar with Second Life or other metaverses, it is an open-ended virtual world where members can create nearly anything they can imagine and create using 3D modeling. Second Life allows members to meet, interact, message, talk and even play games with each other. Think about meeting a relative in the virtual world to talk and play poker at one of your virtual houses.

Second Life currently has around 45,000 members and has been growing membership by about 10% per month. The removal of the $10 one-time charge to join should push membership even more. Users must still pay, if they want it, for land (most sells for $129) and around $25 per month to maintain their land. However, users can earn money (either virtual or real) for selling the items they or the characters create to other members.