What is Steampunk? A post-cyberpunk movement that takes a romantic view of technology, using the circuitry of parallel universes and time splices to fuse Victorian era fashion and design with computer hardware, fantasy, and gadgets. Born perhaps from William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's alternative reality novel, "The Difference Engine," steampunk is like Dr. Who and Alice in Wonderland playing simultaneously on the same channel. Steampunk fetishizes top hats, log coats with tails, balloons and zeppelins along with rocket packs, ray guns, stopwatches, and dandy canes. Best of all, steampunk has established a strong presence in the fantasy world Second Life, for those who wish to immerse themselves in its realm.

As Tinkergirl writes on her blog:

"You’ve probably heard of Second Life, and indeed many of you may have gone to visit it to see what all the fuss was about (I did, many months ago) but I didn’t know at the time that there was a specifically Steampunk/19th Century themed area called The Independant State of Caledon."

"I remember being seriously underwhelmed when I first visited Second Life - it seemed to be slow, ugly and full of ‘cybering’, and none of those were what I’d hoped for in this user-created-content world. However, I have to say that Caledon has turned me around - Caledon (and the various zones therein) is a beautifully designed, consistantly themed area with some real thought and love put into it. I felt quite ashamed to be wandering around in newbie jeans and t-shirt when I would catch glimpses of other avatars in period clothing. The diversity is a true example of what Second Life should thrive at - from little ivy-coated stone cottages on a snowy beach, to giant Swiss Family Robinson style treehouses in mahogany and stained glass, to floating islands chained to the complaining earth, to an unnassuming Zeppelin gallery, to the above two-up two-down redstone house with impeccable detail."

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/200701/caledon-a-steampunk-second...

But Caledon is not the only steampunk realm in Second Life, according to the Connolly Telegraph, there is:

"Caledon, New Babbage, Steelhead City, Antiquity, the Tombstone sims, Yankton, Deadwood, and many more. Our vision is to unite the 19th Century SL citizens while still retaining the unique character and atmosphere of these varied and fascinating places....."

http://theconnollytelegraph.blogspot.com/

For more links, visit: http://www.sltopsites.com/tag/steampunk