The virtual world is not a safe place any longer. Last sunday a worm made all users of Second Life block others but themselves. Besides that, the worm added golden rings to the site. According to the second life blog, the rings refer to the game called Sonic the Hedgehog.

[PST 2:44PM] An attack of self-replicators is causing heavy load on the database, which is in turn slowing down in-world activity. We have isolated the grey goo and are currently cleaning up the grid. We'll keep you updated as status changes.(Second Life Blog)

That last remark makes me think of science fiction movies where all kinds of strange lifeforms (self-replicators ?!) protect their turf and attack anyone who passes. Is Second Life our actual future ?