SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Second Life finally got the memo: Allowing minors access to sexually explicit material is at best a bad idea and at worst may be criminal.Linden Lab, developer of the wildly popular online virtual world, announced it will begin segregating the adult content users have created into areas that are off-limits to anyone younger than 18. Although no “Estates” currently extant will be required to move onto the planned “Adult Continent,” their owners will be required to flag their holdings as too hot for young eyes.

In addition, adult content will be hidden by default within the world’s search engine. Users who wish to search for or access adult materials will need to be age-verified first, either by payment with a credit card or some other method yet to be determined.

What qualifies as adult material hasn’t been defined. Linden Lab plans to consult with Second Life citizens over the next six weeks to determine along what lines the adult-child boundaries should lie.

“From its beginning, Second Life has been an open place where Residents can explore a wide variety of creative pursuits,” Cyn Linden wrote on the company’s blog March 12th. “This has resulted in a vast amount of amazing content inworld, and has helped make Second Life the exceptional place it is. It is very important to Linden Lab that we support and preserve this creativity and openness as our community continues to grow, and as the range of uses for Second Life widens.”

However, she noted, it has escaped no one’s notice that Second Life, like much of the rest of cyberspace, is rife with sexual fantasies children shouldn’t be allowed to access and some adults don’t care to encounter.

“We believe we can implement a better system than we have now for managing this content — one that is respectful of everyone’s personal preferences, yet does not detract from the creativity and passion that define Second Life,” Linden wrote.

“The core goals of this initiative are to improve Second Life for everyone — by giving Residents more control over what they see, and by providing the best available method to make adult content accessible only to those who ought to (and who desire to) access it,” she added. “We understand this may sound like a major change for some Residents, landowners and merchants. However, we are committed to ensuring that all three of these features are implemented easily and efficiently, so merchants and other landowners will not be disadvantaged, and Residents’ freedom and creativity ultimately will not be impeded.”

The move could have big implications for Second Life’s economy. Adult products and services are responsible for a hefty percentage of the money that changes hands inworld, and Linden Dollars have real-world value for both Linden Lab and Second Life merchants.