If there was one sentence, uttered by its creator, that neatly encapsulates the grown-up ambitions and continued infancy of Second Life, the virtual world that will be ten years old next year, it is this: "Once you get inside it's an amazing experience, but we still have this situation where a lot of people have problems tying up their shoes."

Philip Rosedale is a 39-year-old physicist turned web entrepreneur whose creation - an online simulation of the real world where people can meet up and interact under the guise of a web-based character known as an avatar - has become synonymous with what many believe will bring about the next wave of technology innovation: 'the 3D internet'.

By another account, however, he is the man behind a fantastically over-hyped phenomenon, 'the virtual world', which has proved difficult to use for many consumers, which many companies have invested in heavily - apparently to little avail - and which remains largely the preserve of a hardy band of geeks who enjoy the anonymity of the web.

Which version is more accurate?

"Look, the software is still very early in terms of how easy it is to get started," Mr Rosedale told Times Online in London recently. "The first two hours of the user's experience are very challenging, but we will believe that usage will grow much faster for every fraction of time we shave off that experience. We are already generating very strong revenues as it is."

For the uninitiated, Second Life is a virtual world which exists entirely on the web. For $9.95 a month, 'citizens' fashion a digital version of themselves and wander about in the world, meeting other people, even buying and selling virtual goods. There are shops, clubs, offices, fields, ponds, bridges, buildings, homes, landscapes - all of which can be visited and explored by players, a bit like in a 3D computer game.

The money changing hands is real, however. According to Linden Labs, the company which operates Second Life, more than $1 million worth of transactions take place in Second Life every day, and the 'in world' currency - the Linden dollar - has a variable exchange rate with its US equivalent.

For the last nine years, Second Life has grown steadily. The game now now claims to have 12 million users - though it acknowledges that many people who have signed up do not use the game regularly - and several large brands, including Coca-Cola, IBM, Sony, and Peugeot, have set up shop there.

Reuters has a dedicated reporter covering Second Life. Sky News has done interviews - including one with David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary - from a 'virtual studio' it built in the world, and universities are now experimenting with using virtual classrooms as way to conduct remote learning.

All the while, however, critics have derided it as having no mainstream appeal, and in particular have lambasted companies such as IBM, which has invested significant resources in learning how virtual worlds could, for instance, be used as a business tool by enabling video-conferencing and group-bonding type exercises.

Mr Rosedale is adamant that IBM's gamble will pay off.

"We are a profitable company," he said. The majority of the revenue - which is not publicly disclosed - comes from the recurring fees users pay for their right to land, as well as a small commission on currency transactions.

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