You’ve probably heard of Second Life, and indeed many of you may have gone to visit it to see what all the fuss was about (I did, many months ago) but I didn’t know at the time that there was a specifically Steampunk/19th Century themed area called The Independant State of Caledon.

I remember being seriously underwhelmed when I first visited Second Life – it seemed to be slow, ugly and full of ‘cybering’, and none of those were what I’d hoped for in this user-created-content world. However, I have to say that Caledon has turned me around – Caledon (and the various zones therein) is a beautifully designed, consistantly themed area with some real thought and love put into it. I felt quite ashamed to be wandering around in newbie jeans and t-shirt when I would catch glimpses of other avatars in period clothing. The diversity is a true example of what Second Life should thrive at – from little ivy-coated stone cottages on a snowy beach, to giant Swiss Family Robinson style treehouses in mahogany and stained glass, to floating islands chained to the complaining earth, to an unnassuming Zeppelin gallery, to the above two-up two-down redstone house with impeccable detail.

There are flaws to it, of course – being user created there are some areas much weaker than others, some places that look empty, rough or just badly made, but they are in the minority. I was sorry that I didn’t encounter any of the community or activity that Caledon is quite well known for, as it was it seemed somewhat of a lovely ghost town.

But should you choose to visit (and it’s free to sign up for Second Life and wander about) then I recommend going to Caledon VictoriaCity first to see some of the shops, and to take advantage of the free gifts stalls so that you can get out of your jeans and t-shirt as quickly as possible. After that, I can recommend Caledon II for some interesting sightseeing; the Zeppelin Gallery and the Tesla Society tower (you can’t miss it – it sparks).

And if anyone here is a long standing resident of Caledon, I’d love to hear from you what you love about Caledon, and what the social side to that pretty city is. (Thanks to Krzysiek for reminding me about Second Life, and for wondering what this Caledon thing was.)