Shanda Interactive Entertainment, China's largest internet company, is about to get bigger. Chen Tianqiao, the company's chairman, is keen to branch out from Shanda's famous swords and sorcery game, to develop its own version of “Second Life”, a virtual reality game created by San Francisco developer Linden Labs.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Chen revealed that Shanda is “moving to diversify games.  The only thing we care about is what users like, so we are also having a try at this Second Life kind of direction.”

The game of Second Life allows players to develop virtual property to trade and to carry out a futuristic life internet-style. Chen told the Financial Times that a “virtual community” is required to ensure the success of a game like Second Life. Shanda, which owns such a community, has a strong advantage over other firms seeking to enter the lucrative gaming market. “Shanda has a huge user base,” Chen said. “We are also among the strongest on the technical side.”

While Chen refused to give further details on the Shanghai-based company's plans for Second Life, there is little doubt that a plan to replicate the game will hit other Chinese companies hard. In particular, HiPiHi in Beijing will be adversely affected if Shanda's version of the game is released before their own. Approximately 2000 players are already involved with testing HiPiHi's take on Second Life.

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