This image was lost some time after publication.

Following an FBI investigation into online gambling, software maker Linden Lab has banned all kinds of betting and wagering in its Second Life virtual world. So what's left for residents of the once-hyped, now fading virtual ghost town to do? Hook up for kinky sex, I guess, or wander through deserted corporate marketing exhibitions. Or, for kicks, rob some virtual banks. We're sure to see some desperation on the streets of Second Life: Virtual casinos are major landholders in Second Life, a source of tax revenues to Second Life maker Linden Lab, and some speculate that this move could be enough to send the virtual economy into a real recession.