First, Reuters opened a news bureau in Second Life, a virtual reality game that people connect to through the internet to live out fantasy lives in the comfort of their own desk chairs.
Now, while Congress is still trying to determine how to tax income in virtual worlds, H&R Block is joining the Land of Make-Believe. The tax company is opening an office in Second Life where avatars, controlled by real human tax professionals, will answer questions and provide resources.
Real-life tax professionals will be available in avatar form online to answer tax-related questions for free and will hold office hours in Second Life from 6 to 7 p.m. PST on Tuesdays and Thursdays through April 17. Among other features, a main auditorium will also allow visitors to watch a video describing the development of Block’s new tax preparation product, Tango.
Tango costs $70 in our real world but goes for 100 Linden dollars within the game. If you want to visit this virtual tax office, log into your Second Life account and visit this link. As of right now, Tango is only open to beta testers, but they’ve been keeping a blog with some thoughts on tax in general. Check out Rita’s posts dealing with language.
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I don’t know much about Second Life but in my opinion it’s ridiculous that people spend all their time in an “online digital world” and miss out on living their real lives!