"From Furries to Cyberpunks to Neo-Luddites to Sex Slaves to the King of the Hobos"

Is Second Life, the online interactive world, the future of animation?

HBO said on Tuesday it has acquired the rights to a short-form documentary shot entirely within Second Life, as entertainment companies increasingly turn to virtual worlds as a source for new content. "My Second Life: The video diaries of Molotov Alta [ed--the name is actually Alva]" purports to tell the story of a man who "disappeared from his California home" and began issuing video dispatches from Second Life….Each of the 7 mini-episodes of "My Second Life" explore a different subculture within the virtual world, according to HBO, ranging "from Furries to Cyberpunks to Neo-Luddites to Sex Slaves to the King of the Hobos."

"You build visually rich, dense environments in an incredibly short amount of time, and you can work collaboratively using the tools of Second Life," said Gayeton, who currently works for the virtual world development agency Millions of Us. "It gives you an idea of how animation will look five years from now."

And HBO's not alone:

CBS created a machinima Super Bowl ad for its TV show "Two and a Half Men," and will feature footage shot within Second Life in an upcoming episode of its popular show.

Watch the first episode here: