Saudis create their own world in virtual island

Saudi Arabia has become the most popular Arab destination in the world and visitors no longer have to worry about the difficulty of obtaining a visa. Well, to the virtual island in Second Life, that is.

More than 25,000 avatars have travelled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and another 25,500 to an island called Middle East, the most popular amongst the 36 Arab islands in the Second Life world.

On the island, Saudis can engage in activities they might not be able to do in real life. They celebrate western holidays like Valentine's Day, on which they receive gifts from the other sex, and they dance to DJ music in discotheques.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

To avoid illicit relationships or indecent clothes, another virtual island called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia posted the logo of the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

"The logo was for avoiding indecent behavior without the presence of virtual committee officers," the island administrator told AlArabiya.net.

The logo was later removed for unknown reasons.

The idea of a Saudi virtual island was a result of the increasing popularity of Second Life, which has surpassed social networking websites like Facebook, said Abu Fahd al-Jassem, creator of Middle East.

"This was especially applicable to girls who are looking for a simple life away from all restrictions," he told AlArabiya.net.

Jassem added that no island in Second Life copied Saudi reality so he decided to create one that would be the meeting point for Saudis from around the world.

The logo was for avoiding indecent behavior without the presence of virtual committee officers

Island administrator

When asked about the cost of the island, Jassem said he pays $400 per month, but also earns a lot from transactions with residents, like selling land and renting shops that sell Saudi clothing and products.

In the future Jassem plans to “build” a school for teaching Arabic to the island's foreign visitors, which would also bring money to the island.

He also profits from converting real currency, whether U.S. dollars or Saudi riyals, to the virtual currency of Second Life known as the Linden. $1 ( riyals) is 270 Linden.

The Arab presence in Second Life, however, is still meager compared to other ethnicities, and those who make money in the virtual world are mostly those whoe create virtual business enterprises like fashion design and real estate.

Market experts estimate the virtual business deals that take place in Second Life at two million Linden daily.

A virtual escape

Moaaz Abdul-Hamid is a regular of Middle East. He studies in the U.S. and considers the island the best outlet for his nostalgia.

"Everything I see on the island is part of the homeland I am away from," he told AlArabiya.net. "I also made lots of friends through the island."

Cultural and social activities are also a regular part of island life. Recently the island hosted a photography exhibit that included a concert on its final day.

The reasons girls visit the island are quite different, though. Hanaa Mahmoud, from Dammam, argued that most female visitors suffer from frustration.

"Their visits to the virtual world are an escape from reality," she told AlArabiya.net. "There they become what they cannot be in real life."

Fatma, nicknamed Sweet Girl, considered her visits to the island "a positive escape."

"It has a positive effect on my life," she told AlArabiya.net. "Through the virtual world, I can get rid of my problems in the real world."

Sawsan goes to the island because she does not like the way she looks.

"I am fat and wanted to know what it feels like to be slim," she told AlArabiya.net. "So, I assumed the character of a slim girl and that way I made lots of friends and became less self-conscious."


(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)

Through the virtual world, I can get rid of my problems in the real world

Fatma