When we started d i g i t a l  m i s s i v e, blogging about Michael Jackson probably wasn’t what came to mind first.

Yet, I began to wonder how the recent passing of a hugely popular global icon might play out inside our still relatively new online virtual world environments? Next thing I know, DM has its very own Michael Jackson post:

You are probably familiar with Second Life. In fact, you might long have your own avatar inside the popular online 3D environment created by users for users to meet and interact “in-world” with others.

Think virtual bars, restaurants, shows, homes, and yes - the occasional fantasy island, Second Life is probably the closest to the metaphysical most of us will ever experience.

Yet, knowing that it has in many ways managed to establish partial replica of the world around us, how does SL deal in-world with real-world deaths of its members? In other words, what happens to SL avatars of those real life members that sadly passed away in the physical world?

Does the SL Webmaster “remove” them after a pre-set time of inactivity? If so, could they mistake me for dead while I am simply on an extended offline vacation soon to return to SL?

Who owns my profile data anyway, including my self-designed avatar? Does SL? Do I? If so, can my avatar be willed to my next of kin as they might want my in-world alter ego to stay (virtually) alive in perpetuity?

On a more practical note, in the event of a real-world death, does someone inside SL assume responsibility of a more dignified in-world final resting place, to what probably is an ever growing number of avatars left abandoned? Of course, that brings up the issue of SL member count as the site might be interested to keep that number at a high.

While I have been wondering about this for a while, I’ve found myself revisiting this somewhat morbid topic triggered by the recent death of Michael Jackson.

From what I can tell, inside SL, avatars have invited others to numerous MJ community concerts, staged memorials (one on an in-world nude beach no less), and offered free, virtual commemorative t-shirts. Michael Jackson-related SL community tweeds abound of course, and in-world reproduced MJ videos return for a last spin.

Yet, I found no evidence of an actually SL-staged Michael Jackson funeral! Intuitively I thought, of the millions of MJ fans, the probability that someone inside SL thought of this, to me, seemed fairly high.

Maybe I am simply getting ahead of myself, as Mr. Jackson’s in-world funeral would only take place in tandem with the real-world one.

But somehow I expected more of the in-world community at large than to simply replicate real world norms.

Wasn’t untethering the real world from its virtual one part of what SL is all about?

Let’s see.