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'Second Life' to integrate voice chat

And while many users are likely to be happy about the new feature, there are those for whom voice may present more problems than it solves.

One of the groups most likely to object to it is those whose gender identification in-world is different than in the real world. And that's because it would be startling for some to hear a male voice coming from a female avatar's mouth, or vice versa.

"I'm a transgender male," said a Second Life blogger whose in-world name is Noche Kandora. "I identify primarily as female. For me, it's an extension of me in 3D cyberspace."

Kandora suggested he worries that some people are not ready to divulge their real-life gender, and with text chatting being the norm, have not had to.

He pointed to a situation recently in which he was invited to be a guest on an in-world talk show that feeds in audio using third-party tools.

When he emailed the host about his real gender, Kandora said the host didn't respond and the invitation appeared revoked.

Kandora also said that he is interested in third-party tools that allow users to mask the sound of their real voice. But he added that such tools are not yet very advanced.

Miller agreed. "The technology there, frankly, isn't ready for prime time," he said. "They turn your voice into an orc or a troll. You can sound like Darth Vader with a bad cold."

At the same time, Beaubois, who has been teaching architecture classes in Second Life since 2005, said he appreciates the fact that text chatting -- which can be easily saved -- allows him to get exact transcripts of discussions between him and his students, something that voice doesn't offer.

To Beaubois, then, integrated voice is a nice option because it provides a hybrid of communications features.

"It's like if you had a pliers and a got a hammer," Beaubois said. "You don't throw your pliers away. It's another tool in your box. Sometimes it's nice to do it by voice. Other times, typing is great."

He also pointed out that Second Life users with hearing or speech problems might want to skip voice, as might foreign language speakers who are able to get by with text chatting, but for whom real conversation might prove too hard.

Still, Kandora thinks that once it's widely available, voice will likely take over.

"It may become the norm of communicating, the accepted form of communicating," said Kandora. "And the people who stick to text only may become the fringe of Second Life, because they're nervous about interacting with people."