Virtual entrepreneurs in Second Life say they fear a program that can copy items such as clothing and other material possessions for sale in the online universe could damage its burgeoning economy.

Second Life is a three-dimensional online world inhabited by hundreds of thousands of users and one of the world's most popular virtual economies.

Its founder Linden Lab warned users late Monday that a program called CopyBot is making it possible to copy any virtual object, including its textures.

Users can purchase items for their Second Life avatars — or digital representations of a person — using Linden dollars, which are bought with real-life currency from hundreds of businesses. These items include clothing, coffee, vehicles and even virtual computers. 

Virtual economy, but real dollars

The program is undermining Second Life's virtual entrepreneurs, who say their businesses and intellectual properties are at risk. Some are threatening to shut down their virtual businesses before they lose everything.

"Needless to say this product has caused tremendous worry among content creators who want to understand how its use may possibly affect their business," said Robin Harper, the vice president of community development and support at Linden Lab, in a blog posting Monday. 

Linden Lab said Second Life content creators who had their wares stolen had few immediate options for stopping the thefts and recommended they file a complaint under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act against offenders.

Dell, Reuters established presence

Computer company Dell announced just Tuesday that it would sell virtual PCs and laptops for characters in Second Life, while Reuters news service recently set up a bureau to report on the virtual world's economy and business sector. 

The parallel universe was created in 2003 by San Francisco-based Philip Rosedale, chief executive officer of Linden Research Inc. It has more than 800,000 inhabitants, of whom more than 100 are earning a real-world, full-time living in Second Life as hundreds of thousands of real dollars change hands daily.