michael adcock has been into second life for about three years. he says, for him, hiding his real identity behind an avatar which, in his case, looks like a warrior painted in silver, has helped him learn more about himself. >> i've found that i've been able to be a lot more up-front and blunt about what is on my mind right away. that happens to say quite a bit about myself, and i choose to look at that as a learning experience. >> reporter: most people in second life don't use their real names. the woman you see here might actually be a man, or vice versa. this avatar actually is a man. he's tom boellstorff, an associate professor of anthropology at the university of california, irvine and editor-in-chief of the american anthropologist. he has written extensively on the culture of virtual worlds. >> for some people, the escape factor is one of the best things about a virtual world like second life-- that you can try having a totally different life, and there's people who get married inside a second life to someone that they don't even know who th